AAA Predicts Busiest Holiday Travel Season Since 2001

AAA is predicting record travel on the nation’s highways for this holiday season.

The organization has tracked holiday travel since 2001, and expects this year to be the busiest since then. It estimates that 98.6 million people will travel 50 miles or more over the next couple of weeks.

Nick Jarmusz, a spokesman for AA Wisconsin, said 90 percent of those people will drive. Jarmusz said relatively low gas prices are a factor, as are improving job numbers and rising consumer confidence. Nevertheless, he said the calendar is the main incentive.

“Anytime that Christmas and New Years fall on a Thursday, it increases the travel window to include two full weekends of travel. So that gives more people the opportunity to make travel arrangements,” said Jarmusz.

AAA defines the holiday travel season as running from Dec. 23 to Jan. 4.