AAA expects 3.4 percent more Florida travelers for the holidays
DORAL, FL – AAA revealed Monday they are expecting nearly 218,000 (3.4 percent) more Florida travelers this holiday season in comparison to the previous one. This number doesn’t include visitors from out of state.
The American Automobile Association predicted a record-setting 6.6 million residents will travel 50 miles or more. Most of them will do so by land driving their cars.
“More than 6 million people will drive to their holiday destinations, an increase of 181,000 compared to 2022. As 2023 comes to a close, drivers can expect to pay about the same or less for a gallon of gas than they did last holiday season, when the Florida average on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day was $2.99 and $3.24, respectively.” according to AAA.
As far as air travelling goes, the company expects almost 357,000 Florida travelers to take a flight, 15,000 more than last year. It would be the second highest air travel volume on record, behind 2003 (399,000), AAA informed.
But although people will mostly travel to their destinations using their own cars or taking a flight, some will also move by bus, train or on a cruise. “Demand for cruises has skyrocketed post-pandemic, and the industry is now preparing for the wave of bookings that traditionally happens at the start of the new year,” according to the auto club’s website.
“Despite various inflationary pressures, Americans are still willing to budget for travel. With a record number of travelers, the roads, airports, and cruise lines will be more crowded than normal. So, finalize your travel plans now, anticipate longer lines, and give yourself extra time to get to your destination,” said Debbie Haas, Vice President of Travel for AAA, to CBS News Miami.
Nationally, AAA said 115.2 million people will travel 50 miles or more from home between December 23rd and New Year’s Day, which is 2.2 percent more than what it was forecasted during the same time last year. Still, holiday travelling doesn’t reach pre-pandemic levels, because the current prediction is about 3 percent less than 2019, CBS News Miami reported.
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