SCOTT SHENK The Free Lance-Star
After a 2023 with “strong travel demand”, the auto club AAA predicts that the holiday season at the end of the year will be the second busiest since the end of the century.
AAA estimates that 3.2 million Virginians will travel at least 50 miles during the 10-day holiday period between December 23rd and January 23rd. 1, more than 2% compared to last year. The estimate is 3% less than 2019, the highest estimate for year-end holiday travel since AAA began tracking such trips in 2000.
Nationally, more than 115 million people are expected to travel in the country, 2% more than last year and also the second highest since 2000.
“AAA has seen strong travel demand year-round, and the end-of-year holidays are no exception,” AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesperson Morgan Dean said in a news release. “Whether people are hitting the road to share the holidays with friends and family, or planning a more elaborate holiday, there’s little to deter them from getting away.”
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Most travelers take the road for their trips — 2.85 million in Virginia and 104 million nationwide, according to AAA. The travel forecast in Virginia is 1% higher than a year ago, but still 4% less than pre-pandemic 2019.
More than 178,000 state residents are expected to fly during the holiday period. Nationally, 7.5 million people are expected to fly, the most tracked by AAA. Virginia estimates have increased by 4% compared to last year and by 2% in 2019.
Another spike in holiday travel is expected in cruises and train and bus travel. Combined, in Virginia there is an expected increase of 15% in these travel options over the same period last year and 13% more than the figures of 2019. Nationally, AAA estimates that 4 million will travel by those modes , 10% more than last year.
The choice of a time to travel has an impact on the duration of drivers on the road. AAA said the heaviest road traffic is expected between Saturday and Thursday, December 28, especially during the afternoon. Saturday, December 30, is also expected to be a heavy traffic day.
The Virginia Department of Transportation has online travel trends map which uses historical data to show the best and worst times to drive.
VDOT will suspend several work zones and most lane closures on interstates and highways from noon Friday to noon Tuesday, Dec. 26, and from noon Friday, Dec. 29, and noon Tuesday, Jan. 2.
One advantage to driving this year is lower gas prices.
On December 17 in Virginia, the average price for a gallon of regular was $2.96, eight cents in the past week, 17 cents from last month and six cents compared to a year ago.
Gas prices have fallen nationally 13 weeks in a row, online fuel tracker GasBuddy said in a blog post Monday. The average cost of $3.03 was 8 cents lower than last week, 26.9 cents lower than a month ago and 6.8 cents lower than a year ago.
GasBuddy’s head of oil analysis, Patrick De Haan, said the drop in gas prices could result in “an average of $2.99 per gallon for the first time in years, the most welcome right to time for the Christmas holidays.”
The analyst expected that the drop in gas prices could end with oil costs rebounding from recent lows, but noted that “we could see a kinder 2024 at the pump for motorists.”
