Less than a month after a busy Thanksgiving, Americans will again be on the move. And like Thanksgiving, travel over the upcoming Christmas/New Year’s holiday is showing an increase compared to last year, says AAA Northeast.
In fact, an estimated 113 million people – a 3% increase over last year – will journey 50 miles or more away from home between December 23 and January 2, 2023, a figure that’s closing in on 2019 pre-pandemic numbers.
“We’re ending 2022 on a high note travel-wise,” said Fran Mayko, AAA Northeast spokeswoman. “First, this year is expected to be the third busiest year for holiday travel since AAA began tracking travel numbers in 2000; and second, we have more people booking domestic and international vacations in the 2nd half of this year and reserving trips for 2023.”
Because Christmas and New Year’s Day fall on Sundays this year, more travelers can extend their vacations or their visits to family and friends visits, she added. “With hybrid work schedules, we’re also seeing more people taking longer travel weekends since they can combine remote work with pleasure at destinations.”
Of the overall 112.7 million travelers this year:
- 90.4% or 101.8 million Americans, a 2% increase over last year, will drive to their holiday destinations
- 6.4% or 7.2 million, a 14% increase, will fly and
- 3.2% or nearly 4.37 million, a whopping 23% increase, will travel by bus, rail, cruise, or some other mode of transportation, including a man in red, who is planning an around-the-world trip by sleigh on the night of December 24.
In recent weeks, gas prices have tumbled, perhaps motivating many travelers to drive this holiday. “Car travel is on par with 2018 volumes,” said Mayko, “But still shy of 2019 when a record 1087 million folks hit the holiday roads.”
This year, airfares are higher, but the demand for flights continues to surge with the numbers coming close to 2019 when 7.3 million Americans traveled by air.