AAA Forecasts a 3.1 Percent Increase in Travel During the Year-End Holidays

Year-end holidays forecast continues upward trend in travel seen throughout 2010

Cheyenne, Wyo. 12/15/10 – AAA projects 92.3 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home during the year-end holidays, an increase of 3.1 percent from the 89.5 million who traveled a year ago. The year-end holidays travel period is defined as Thursday, December 23, 2010 to Sunday, January 2, 2011.

“It’s great to see so many Americans taking to the roads, rails and skies this holiday season, especially since this is the fifth consecutive holiday period this year in which AAA has predicted a year-to-year increase in the number of travelers,” said Denice Harris, AAA Spokeswoman. “After a challenging year in 2009, a modestly improved economic environment and pent-up demand resulted in more Americans traveling in 2010, and the year-end holidays are no exception.”

AAA’s projections are based on economic forecasting and research by IHS Global Insight. The Boston-based economic research and consulting firm teamed with AAA in 2009 to jointly analyze travel trends during the major holidays. AAA has been reporting on holiday travel trends for more than two decades. The complete AAA / IHS Global Insight 2010-11 Year-End Holiday Travel Forecast can be found at AAA.com/news.

The Mountain region is expected to see an increase

Travel from the Mountain region (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NM, NV, UT, WY) is expected to increase 2.4 percent over the year-end holidays in comparison to regional holiday travel last year. While growth will trail the nation’s, the percentage of travelers from the Mountain region expected to travel this year-end holiday period is higher than the expected national frequency (31.5 percent compared to 29.6 percent).

The year-end holiday travel period is longer than many of the other holidays throughout the year, so it is not surprising that Mountain region travelers are expected to average 1,283 miles round-trip and spend approximately $711. The majority of travel will be by automobile.

“Wyoming’s average price of self-serve regular gasoline has climbed recently, currently it’s $2.79 per gallon. This is 33 cents higher than a year ago,” says Harris. “The escalation in gasoline price may impact travelers' expected budgets; however, it won’t deter people from traveling. Travelers plan to cut back in other areas – staying in cheaper hotels or renting more fuel efficient vehicles – to help offset the price of gasoline.”

More than nine out of 10 will drive to their holiday destinations

Approximately 85.7 million people (93 percent of all holiday travelers) will drive to their year-end holidays destinations. That represents a 3.2 percent increase from the 83 million who drove last year.

Number of air travelers expected to increase by nearly three percent

Nearly 2.75 million leisure air travelers (three percent of all holiday travelers) will take to the skies during the year-end holidays, marking a 2.8 percent increase from last year’s 2.67 million air travelers. The remaining four percent of holiday travelers are expected to travel by other modes, including rail, bus and watercraft.

Average travel distance up 33 percent; median spending about 3.5 percent more than last year

According to a survey of traveler intentions, the average distance traveled by Americans during the year-end holidays is expected to be 1,052 miles, which is 33 percent more than last year’s average travel distance of 791 miles. Median spending is expected to be $694. Median spending a year ago was $670. Similar to Thanksgiving, a majority of survey respondents (75 percent) reported that the main purpose of their upcoming trip was a visit with friends or family.

Hotel rates increase, airfares decrease and car rental rates unchanged compared to a year ago

According to AAA’s Leisure Travel Index, hotel rates for AAA Three Diamond lodgings over the year-end holidays are expected to increase five percent from a year ago with travelers spending an average of $125 per night compared to $119 last year. Travelers planning to stay at AAA Two Diamond hotels can expect to pay two percent more at an average cost of $88 per night. Airfares are expected to be three percent less than last year with an average lowest round-trip rate of $174 for the top 40 U.S. air routes. Weekend daily car rental rates will remain unchanged at an average of $50.

Save money on gas during holiday driving

To help ease the burden at the pump, AAA offers these tips for drivers to save money on fuel during the holiday season:

• Be gentle on the gas and brake pedals – Aggressive driving can lower a car’s fuel economy by up to 33 percent.*
• Drive the speed limit – Each 5 mph driven over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.24 per gallon for gas.*
• Properly inflate tires – Having the correct tire pressure can improve fuel economy by up to three percent.*
• Plan errands in advance – Try to combine multiple tasks into one trip.
• Keep luggage off the roof – A loaded roof rack affects the vehicle aerodynamics and creates extra drag that reduces fuel economy.
• Let AAA find the lowest gas prices – AAA provides gas station location and fuel price information at AAA.com with the online TripTik® Travel Planner.
• Keep up-to-date on vehicle maintenance – Be sure to follow the vehicle manufacturer’s recommended maintenance schedule, and do not ignore vehicle warning lights that indicate something is wrong. Warning lights can signal problems that will greatly decrease a car’s fuel efficiency.

*According to the U.S. Department of Energy.

AAA MountainWest is dedicated to providing its over 170,000 members in Alaska, Montana and Wyoming with travel, insurance, financial and auto-related services. A fully tax-paying, not-for-profit corporation, AAA MountainWest, Inc. works for the improvement of motoring and traveling conditions and is a leader for travel, civic and safety issues. AAA can be visited on the Internet at www.AAA.com. To have up-to-date news and safety information from AAA delivered right to your desktop, sign-up for the new RSS Feed at http://mtw.aaashare.com/index.php#rss.

AAA news releases, high resolution images, broadcast-quality video, fact sheets and podcasts are available on the AAA NewsRoom at AAA.com/news.

###