"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 Glen MacDonell, director, AAA Travel Services. "After a challenging year in 2009, a modestly improved economic environment and pent-up [image-nocss] demand resulted in more Americans traveling in 2010, and the year-end holidays are no exception."
Approximately 85.7 million people (more than nine out of 10, or 93% of all holiday travelers) will drive to their year-end holidays destinations. That represents a 3.2% increase from the 83 million who drove last year.
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Nearly 2.75 million leisure air travelers (3% of holiday travelers) will take to the skies during the year-end holidays, marking a 2.8% increase from last year's 2.67 million air travelers. The remaining 4% of holiday travelers are expected to travel by other modes, including rail, bus and watercraft.
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% 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%) reported that the main purpose of their upcoming trip was a visit with friends or family.
According to AAA's Leisure Travel Index, hotel rates for AAA Three Diamond lodgings over the year-end holidays are expected to increase 5% from a year ago with travelers spending an average of $125 per night compared to $119 last year
As North America's largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides more than 52 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers.
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.
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