Holiday traffic in the U.S. this year should be up 3.1% over 2009, according to new analysis by Boston-based consulting firm IHS Global Insight on behalf of AAA . And the bulk of all holiday travel this year is expected to be carried on highways and roads.
Based on IHS research, AAA projects 92.3-million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home between tomorrow Dec. 23 and Sun. Jan. 2nd. That would be up from the 89.5 million persons who traveled a year ago.
Key metric is more than 9 out of 10 travelers will drive to their holiday destinations, AAA said. The auto club added that means some 85.7-million people (93% of all holiday travelers) will hit the roads to reach holiday destinations. That stat represents a 3.2% hike from the 83 million who drove last year, AAA noted.
The average distance traveled by Americans during the Christmas-New Year’s holidays is expected to rise sharply—to a projected total of 1,052 miles. That would be 33% higher than last year's average travel distance of 791 miles, AAA added.
