SAN FRANCISCO — U.S. travel during the Christmas and New Year holidays will rise for a sixth year to a record as low fuel prices contribute to disposable incomes, according to the nation’s biggest motoring organization.
About 98.6 million people will journey 50 miles or more from Dec. 23 to Jan. 4, AAA said. That’s up from 94.8 million a year earlier and the most in records that began in 2001. Approximately 89.5 million people will drive, up 4.2 percent from last year, the Heathrow, Fla.-based group said.
Retail gasoline has fallen by 32 percent — more than $1 a gallon — in the U.S. since this year’s peak on April 26, dragged down by oil prices sliding amid a global glut of crude. Domestic oil production is at the highest level in at least three decades as drillers pull record volumes out of shale formations from North Dakota to Texas.
“Lower gas prices are filling stockings with a little more cash to spend on travel this year as travelers are expected to pay the lowest prices since 2009,” said Marshall Doney, AAA’s chief operating officer. “Lower prices are increasing disposable income and enabling families to set aside money for travel this year.”
