Be warned: This holiday season will be the busiest on highways in U.S. history, AAA says. This is in addition to 2019 being the busiest holiday travel period at the nation's airports in 16 years.
A record 115.6 million Americans are expected to travel from Saturday, Dec. 21 through Wednesday, Jan. 1. The figure is expected to be the largest since AAA began tracking holiday travel.
AAA estimates 104.8 million will travel by car, a record according to AAA, in addition to 6.97 million who will travel by plane and 3.81 million who will travel by train.
AAA said there are a number of reasons why travel is expected to be high this holiday season.
“Holiday cheer is at an all-time high this year, with unemployment at historically low levels, and noted improvements in both disposable income and household net worth,” said Paula Twidale, vice president, AAA Travel. “Travelers should be getting used to crowded highways and airports, as this marks the eighth straight year of new record-high travel volumes for the year-end holidays.”
One bit of good news for travelers is that gas prices are expected to continue dropping through the holidays, although the national average will likely be slightly higher than last December's average of $2.37 per gallon.
