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AAA: At Least 34 M Fewer Americans To Travel This Holiday Season

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aaamich.com

AAA Travel is expecting at least 34-million fewer Americans to travel over the Christmas-New Year’s holiday season.  But even though there are less travelers, there are still many who will venture out and AAA is advising caution for those do.

“While Thanksgiving is traditionally spent gathering with friends and family, the year-end holidays is when Americans go out for more elaborate vacations, but that will not be the case this year.”

That’s AAA Michigan spokesperson, Adrienne Woodland.  She says AAA expects the vast majority of Americans to stay home this holiday season.  Public health concerns and travel guidance are influencing their decisions not to travel over the year-end holidays.  That’s the period that typically sees high demand for vacations. However, AAA’s numbers show that while there will be fewer travelers, i.e. 34 million fewer, 84.4 million may still travel from December 23rd to January 3rd.  That’s a decline of about 29 percent. And in Michigan, almost 2.6 million could still potentially travel for the year-end holidays.  Woodland says for those who choose to travel, it is important they know the risks.

“For those who make that personal decision to travel, it’s important to know the risks involved and take the steps to keep yourself and others safe.  A couple things that we advise travelers to know before you go. One is plan ahead. Check with state and local officials along your route and at your destination to learn about local guidance and any restrictions that may be in place and this includes what’s expected of you when you return home.  Many localities are requiring COVID 19 testing before and after travel.”

AAA says while travel numbers will be down, those that choose to go, most will go by car.  Road trips they say account for 96-percent of holiday travel.   Plus, with lower gas prices, serve as an incentive for those last-minute decisions to travel.  But AAA also reminds those who will drive to make sure their vehicle is in good shape so as to avoid car trouble on the road.  As it is, AAA says they expect to rescue more than 900-thousand Americans at the road side this holiday season. 

You can find plenty of information about travel, restrictions and more at AAA.com.

Jennifer is an award winning broadcast news journalist with more than two decades of professional television news experience including the nation's fifth largest news market. She's worked as both news reporter and news anchor for television and radio in markets from Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo all the way to San Francisco, California.