Record travel projected this holiday

AAA forecasts that more than one-third of Americans will travel this holiday season.

The record-breaking 112.5 million travelers taking to the nation’s runways, roads and rails for the year-end holidays represents a 4.4 percent increase over last year and the most since AAA has been tracking holiday travel, AAA said.

For the more than 102 million people who will pack up their cars for a holiday road trip, INRIX, a global mobility analytics company, predicts travel times in the most congested cities in the U.S. could be as much as four times longer than a normal trip.

“Tis the season for holiday travel, and more Americans than ever will journey to spend time with friends and family or choose to take a vacation,” Bryan Shilling, managing director, AAA Travel products and services, said in a Dec. 13 statement.

“Strong economic growth fueled by robust consumer spending continues to drive strong demand for seasonal travel,” Shilling said. “With a record-breaking one-third of the country choosing to travel this holiday, roadways and airports are sure to be busy.”

Some data from AAA

Automobiles: More Americans will travel by car this holiday season than ever before. The 102.1 million people expected to pack up their cars for road trips is 4.4 percent higher than last year. It is the most since AAA began tracking holiday travel in 2001.

Planes: The 6.7 million people who will travel by air this year is the highest level in 15 years and is 4.2 percent more than last year.

Trains, buses and cruise ships: Travel across these sectors will increase by 4 percent, with a total 3.7 million passengers.