Sound familiar? Another record-breaking holiday travel period expected across America

It seems as if every holiday travel period breaks a record these days, and the end of 2024 looks to keep that trend alive. 

AAA considers the “year-end holiday period” to be Saturday until New Years Day. Their projection for this year eclipses the previous record of 119.3 million travelers set in 2019, albeit by just 64,000. 

But exactly how will the hundreds of millions of people be getting to their destinations?  

According to travel experts, the most popular way is by car; nearly 90% of holiday travelers will be driving to their destinations. 107 million people are expected to travel by car this year, and while that marks an increase of 2.5 million from 2023, it’s still a million shy of 2019’s record of 108 million. 

The increase could likely be attributed to a drop in gas prices, as a gallon of gas costs more than a quarter less than it did at this time last year, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration indicates. 

All that said, AAA projects that more people will take to the skies for the year-end holidays than ever before. A total of 7.85 million air passengers are expected to fly between Saturday and New Years Day, which breaks the previous record of 7.5 million set last year. 

This statistic comes as both domestic and international ticket prices are up; AAA booking data shows domestic flights are around 4% more expensive than last year, with the average ticket costing $830. International tickets prices have increased 13% year-over-year for an average of $1,630 per ticket. 

Other modes of travel – buses, trains and cruises – are also more popular than they have been in 20 years, AAA says, with 4.47 million people expected to travel these ways. 

Travel experts and law enforcement agencies alike urge travelers to follow all posted rules and guidelines regardless of how they are traveling this holiday season.