Nearly 2.7 Million Michiganians Plan Year-End Holiday Travel, Reports AAA

DEARBORN, Mich., Dec. 16, 2009 -- Nearly 2.7 million Michigan residents - up from last year's projected 2 million -- will travel 50 miles or more from home during the upcoming Christmas holiday period, according to AAA's latest travel survey. Nationwide, AAA predicts 87.7 million Americans will travel, up 3.8 percent from a year ago.

Most Michigan travelers will go by car, truck or van to their destinations this year (90 percent), while five percent will go by air. The rest will travel by bus or train. Michigan motorists can expect to pay 88.5 cents more for a gallon of gas ($2.538 as of December 14), compared to last year.

"More Michiganians will take advantage of the lengthy two-week winter holiday season to spend time with family and friends this year," said Claire Lockley, Travel vice president with The Auto Club Group (ACG), which includes AAA Michigan. "The moderate projected rise in air travel, both in Michigan and nationally, is welcome since the airline industry was hit hard by the recession."

For the holiday travel period, Americans are expected to spend approximately $1,009 per household on travel during the Christmas-New Year's period (Dec. 23-Jan. 3). The largest share of all spending will be on transportation. Travelers will average 791 miles roundtrip this upcoming holiday period.

According to AAA's Leisure Travel Index - a monitor of pricing in 20 popular cities across the U.S. for hotel and car rentals, as well as 40 pairs of cities for air travel pricing - the lowest average published airfares over the year-end holiday period are expected to increase two percent from last year to an average of $179 per roundtrip ticket. Car rental rates will increase two percent to an average of $50 per day for a mid-size car vs. $49 per day last year. Rates for AAA Three Diamond lodgings are expected to be 10 percent less than last year, with travelers spending an average of $119 per night. Travelers planning to stay at AAA Two Diamond lodgings will pay 6 percent less than last year, an average of $86 per night. These are the lowest average lodging rates for this time period since 2004.

AAA projections are based on research conducted by IHS Global Insight. AAA has been reporting on holiday travel trends for more than two decades. The complete AAA/HIS Global Insight 2009 holiday forecast can be found at AAA.news.com.

During last year's 102-hour Christmas holiday period, there were 14 traffic fatalities reported by the Michigan State Police. Of the 11 fatal crashes, two involved alcohol. Lack of restraint use was a factor in three of the 14 fatalities.

Last New Year's Eve, Michigan State Police reported one fatal crash with one fatality, while on New Year's Day there were five fatal crashes with five fatalities. Alcohol was involved in one of the fatal crashes.

AAA Michigan urges motorists to allow extra time, buckle safety belts, get plenty of sleep and avoid alcohol during the upcoming holiday period. For tasty nonalcoholic drink recipes, visit AAA.com/Pretenders.