AAA FORECASTS A 3% INCREASE IN TRAVEL OVER CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR’S

Year-end holidays forecast continues upward trend in

travel seen throughout 2010.

NEWS from AAA South Dakota, December 15 – AAA projects 92.3 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home during the year-end holidays, an increase of 3.1 percent from the 89.5 million who traveled a year ago. The Christmas/New Year’s holiday travel period is defined as covering eleven days, from Thursday, December 23, 2010 to Sunday, January 2, 2011.

Three percent more South Dakotans are expected to travel over the holidays this year as well.

“It’s great to see so many taking to the roads, rails and skies this holiday season, especially since this is the fifth consecutive holiday period this year in which AAA has predicted a year-to-year increase in the number of travelers,” said Mark Madeja, spokesman for AAA South Dakota. “After a challenging year in 2009, a modestly improved economic environment and pent-up demand resulted in more Americans traveling in 2010, and the year-end holidays are no exception.”

Nine out of ten travelers will drive to their holiday destinations

Nationwide, approximately 85.7 million people (93 percent of all holiday travelers) will drive to their Christmas/New Year’s holiday destinations. That represents a 3.2 percent increase from the 83 million who drove last year. About 289,208 South Dakotans will be driving 50 miles or more from home over the holidays, a three percent boost over year ago figures. Motor vehicle travel is predicted to make up about 35 percent of all holiday travel done by South Dakotans.

Number of air travelers expected to increase by nearly three percent

Nearly 2.75 million leisure air travelers across the country (three percent of all holiday travelers) will take to the skies during the year-end holidays, marking a 2.8 percent increase from last year’s 2.67 million air travelers. Approximately .7 percent of South Dakotans who will be traveling will be getting there by air this year. The 5,686 South Dakota air travelers represent a 2.4 percent increase from one year ago.

The remaining holiday travel will be done by other modes, including rail, bus and watercraft.

Average travel distance up 33 percent; median spending about 3.5 percent more than last year

According to a survey of traveler intentions, the average distance traveled by Americans during the year-end holidays is expected to be 1,052 miles, which is 33 percent more than last year’s average travel distance of 791 miles. Median spending is expected to be $694. Median spending a year ago was $670. Similar to Thanksgiving, a majority of survey respondents (75 percent) reported that the main purpose of their upcoming trip was a visit with friends or family.

According to FuelGaugeReport.com, prices for regular self-serve gasoline are averaging $2.98 per gallon nationwide today and $2.99 in South Dakota, about 36 cents above year ago prices.

Hotel rates increase, airfares decrease and car rental rates unchanged compared to a year ago

The AAA Leisure Travel Index shows that hotel rates for AAA Three Diamond-rated lodgings over Christmas and New Year’s are expected to increase five percent from a year ago with travelers spending an average of $125 per night compared to $119 last year. Travelers planning to stay at AAA Two Diamond-rated hotels can expect to pay two percent more at an average cost of $88 per night. AAA predicts airfares to be three percent less than last year with an average lowest round-trip rate of $174 for the 40 most popular U.S. air routes. Weekend daily car rental rates will remain unchanged this year at an average of $50.

AAA reminds travelers that the auto club offers a variety of trip planning tools including:

• Free printed TourBook guides and maps for members
• Online travel guides and  the TripTik Travel Planner, available free to all travelers at AAA.com
• Three free mobile applications that offer on-the-go access to AAA travel information and services:
• AAA TripTik Mobile iPhone app provides updated gas prices, maps and directions, and information on AAA-approved hotels, restaurants and attractions.
• With AAA Roadside iPhone app, AAA members requiring emergency road service can quickly send their location, vehicle description and specific breakdown details directly to AAA without placing a phone call.
• The AAA Discounts iPhone app, which has been downloaded more than 900,000 times, uses GPS technology to identify a user’s location and displays nearby businesses that offer members AAA Show Your Card & Save discounts. A version of the AAA Discounts app is also available for Android-platform smartphones.

These travel projections are based on economic forecasting and research by IHS Global Insight. The Boston-based economic research and consulting firm teamed with AAA in 2009 to jointly analyze travel trends during the major holidays. AAA has been reporting on holiday travel trends for more than two decades. The complete AAA / IHS Global Insight 2010-2011 Year-End Holiday Travel Forecast can be found at AAA.com/news.

As North America’s largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides more than 52 million members (89,000 in South Dakota) with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers. AAA South Dakota can be visited online at AAA.com.

AAA news releases, high resolution images, broadcast-quality video, fact sheets and

podcasts are available on the AAA NewsRoom at AAA.com/news.