Buckling Down For Holiday Travel: 43% Expected To Drive

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Traveling during the holidays isn’t any easier this year than last, and with mounting airfare surcharges, it’s not any cheaper.

According to a study conducted by the research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey, 43% of Americans traveling during the 2009 holiday season are opting to drive instead of fly. This is probably due to either escalating airfares or also as the reports that gas prices are dropping.

The Associated Press reports that approximately 33 million people will be driving to their Thanksgiving destinations. They go on to say that those traveling away from home will probably only be up 2.1% this year from last. That number could fluctuate easily by state, as AAA Northern California is predicting that 3.5 million Californians will be hitting the road over the four-day weekend, up 8% from last year. And in Virginia, AAA is predicting 1.5 million residents to travel by car, up 2.7% from 2008.

Personally, I won’t be able to make it home for Thanksgiving, and I usually don’t opt to travel over this holiday weekend due to high costs, ridiculous crowds and traffic, and a preference to go home to celebrate the holidays just one month later. But considering my location (you can see on the sidebar), I only have the option of flying home for Christmas. It’s either that or start sailing my boat now. But where do you see yourself in these statistics?

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