AAA has seen pent-up demand for travel in all forms turn into a rise in the amount of people traveling throughout the year from Memorial Day and Independence Day weekend to Thanksgiving and now end-of-the-year holiday travel, according to AAA Club Alliance spokeswoman Kara Hitchens.
“Whether people are hitting the road for a visit with friends and family, or planning a more significant getaway, there is little discouraging them,” Hitchens said.
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
The total number of travelers statewide is a 2.9% increase compared to last year and beating a pre-pandemic number of 4.8 million and setting a new record since 2000 when AAA began tracking holiday travel.
More than 403,000 area residents are expected to travel, up from more than 389,000 last year, and they’re part of a record-breaking 119.3 million Americans expected to take to the roads, skies and railways.
The number of people flying is up also this year. Nearly 280,000 Ohioans, about 23,000 of them locally, will travel by airplane for the holidays, making it the busiest travel year since AAA began keeping track.
Dayton International Airport is expecting a 4% increase in passengers this holiday season compared to last December’s holiday numbers, according to airport spokeswoman Melissa Riley Patsiavos.
“Seasonal activity is difficult to forecast. However, with an expected increase in load factors of 5% we are assuming that DAY’s overall increase in December holiday travel will be similar compared to last year,” Patsiavos said.
The airport has more than 4,000 available seats than it had in 2023.
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
The peak travel days are projected to be today, Dec. 26, and Dec. 29, Patsiavos said.
The airport’s most popular markets for the holiday season are Baltimore-Washington, Dallas, Atlanta, Orlando, Denver, Chicago and New York City, Patsiavos said.
The lion’s share of travelers nationwide — nearly 107 million of them — are expected to get to and from their destination by motor vehicle. Nearly 4.5 million Ohioans are projected to travel by motor vehicle, up 2.5% over 2023 and topping the previous record of 4.3 million set in 2019. Of them, more than 365,000 local people, up from more than 353,000 last year.
“I would caution people that it because it is going to be busier and more crowded, there’s more opportunity for mishaps,” Hitchens said. “We know in the wintertime that the weather is always the wild card. Even if it’s just raining, a heavy thunderstorm can disrupt weather as well.”
Those hitting the road can expect to find lower gas prices nationwide. The national average was $3.03 per gallon Wednesday, according to AAA.
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
Motorists will likely see a national average price of gas of $2.95 per gallon on Christmas, the lowest being charged on the holiday since 2020, according to GasBuddy, a fuel savings platform that tracks gas prices nationwide.
“This holiday season is shaping up to be a gift for American drivers, with gas prices presenting a stark contrast to the budget-breaking levels we’ve seen in recent years and a return to what feels like normal for many Americans filling their tanks,” said Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis. “After waiting an exhausting two years for imbalances brought on by Covid and Russia’s war on Ukraine to settle down, we’re finally getting back to normal.”
Gas prices have finally returned to normal levels for three reasons, De Haan said.
First, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates, which helped slow down the economy. Second, China ,the world’s second-biggest oil user, has had slower economic growth lately. Third, enough time has passed since the period of rapid economic growth that sent prices skyrocketing.
When the economy was booming a few years ago, prices for everything — including gas — increased worldwide. That forced governments to raise interest rates to cool things down. As planned, that slowed economic growth and reduced demand, which helped bring prices back down.
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
Ohio experienced a price hike to $3.29 Wednesday as the result of a price cycle, De Haan said.
Gas stations engage in price-cycling by steadily lowering prices to undercut competitors, overlooking small market changes daily until their profit margins run thin, De Haan has said. When that is no longer profitable, they raise prices by 25 to 40 cents per gallon to maintain profit margins of 15 to 20 cents per gallon, he said.
“After stations raise prices to the $3.29-a-gallon mark, motorists should expect it to erode fairly quickly as it’s amongst the highest margin price increases that I’ve ever seen, giving stations more room to aggressively cut prices after they’ve gone up,” De Haan said.
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