HOUSTON Dec. 18, 2002 Travel for the upcoming Christmas-New Year's holiday is expected to be down slightly from a year ago, according to AAA Texas.
The 59.1 million Americans who plan to travel 50 miles or more from home this Christmas-New Year's period is down about one percent from the near-record 59.9 million people who took a trip during the 2001 holiday, according to AAA Texas.
A total of 45.9 million travelers expect to drive this holiday, approximately three percent fewer than last year's 47.4 million.
Another 11.2 million plan to go by airplane, nearly seven percent more than the 10.5 million during the same period in 2001. An additional two million are expected to take a trip by train, bus or other mode of transportation, the same number as last year.
Although travel may be down slightly compared to last year, this Christmas-New Year's should be the fifth heaviest traveled in at least the last nine years. A record 63 million people traveled over the 1995 holiday period.
The most encouraging aspect of this year's travel forecast is that for the second straight holiday, Americans are returning to the skies in increasing numbers, said Rose Rougeau, spokesperson for AAA Texas.
Rougeau adds that this year's total travel projection is still expected to be nearly four percent higher than the 2000 Christmas-New Year's holiday when 57.1 million people took a trip.
According to AAA's survey, 33 percent of travelers plan to visit a town or rural area while another 31 percent expect to go to a city. Other popular destinations include: ocean/beach, 14 percent; mountains, seven percent; state/national park, three percent; theme/amusement park, three percent; lake area, two percent; don't know or other, seven percent.
AAA's holiday travel projections are based on a national telephone survey of adults conducted by the Travel Industry Association, which does special research for AAA.
AAA Texas, LLC, an affiliate of AAA, has been serving Texans since 1902. Today, more than a million AAA Texas members benefit from the organization's roadside assistance, a full-service travel agency, auto-related services, traffic safety programs, legislative advocacy, and insurance and financial products. Information about these products and services is available on AAA Texas' Web site at www.aaa-texas.com.
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