Despite an expected decrease in holiday travel nationally, more motorists in the Southeast are expected to hit the road this Christmas than last year, according to a AAA Auto Club South survey.
About 18 million people are projected to travel, a 0.2 percent increase compared with last year. Holiday travel by air, car, bus and train is expected to decrease about 2 percent nationally from last year's 65.3 million .
Cheaper gas will contribute to the slight increase, said Judy Reville, spokeswoman for Augusta's AAA Auto Club office.
"Fewer people are flying, because airfares have increased and the number of flights going out has decreased," Mrs. Reville said. "People want to take advantage of the low gas prices by driving to grandmother's house."
Gas prices are the lowest they've been in four years, Mrs. Reville said. A gallon of regular unleaded gas costs about $1.60 in Augusta compared with $2.99 a year ago.
Though holiday air travel is forecasted to be down 8 percent in the Southeast, Augusta Regional Airport is still likely to see a steady flow of travelers, said Diane Johnston, spokeswoman for the airport.
Despite a slight increase in gas prices over the past weekend, Mrs. Reville predicts them to stay steady around Christmas.
Reach Stephanie Toone at (706) 823-3215 or stephanie.toone@augustachronicle.com.
HOLIDAY TRAVEL BY THE NUMBERS
1.2 MILLION: number of Georgians expected to travel by car.
505,000: number of Georgians expected to travel by air.
14.1 MILLION: number of travelers in the Southeast; which is 28 percent of all American travel.
63.9 MILLION: number of travelers expected by air, car, train and bus.
$1.60: average amount in dollars for a gallon of regular unleaded gas in the Augusta area.
$1.66: average amount in dollars for a gallon of regular unleaded gas nationally.
Source: AAA Auto Club South
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