COLUMBUS – For the seventh year in a row, the auto club AAA expects year-end holiday travel numbers to break records in Ohio with more than 4.7 million Buckeye State residents taking to the roads or the air between now and Jan. 1.
The auto club projected that 115.6 million Americans would travel at least 50 miles from home, 91 percent of them driving to their destinations. That includes 4.27 million Ohioans, with Dec. 26 and 27 expected to be the busiest on the nation’s highways.
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The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline has dipped 4 cents per gallon over the past two weeks, according to the Lundberg Survey but, according to the AAA’s daily report, the average retail price of regular gasoline in Ohio Monday morning was $2.55 per gallon, 46 higher than the price motorists were paying one year ago.
A robust economy and greater consumer confidence are fueling the 11th straight year of holiday travel growth.
The AAA predicts that nearly 7 million Americans will travel by air to their holiday destinations during the 12-day travel period, the highest holiday air travel volume since 2003.
The 258,000 Ohioans who will travel by air represent a 4.9 percent increase over from last year, AAA Ohio spokesperson Kimberly Schwind said.
Schwind says Friday, Dec. 27. will be the busiest single day of the entire period for air travelers.