AAA: Thanksgiving Travel Down Slightly This Year

More than one million Virginians will hit the road this Thanksgiving holiday — about a 1.6 percent decrease from last year, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.

Last year, the area saw holiday travel at a four-year peak after falling 23 percent during the peak of the recession in 2008-09, says AAA.

“Although the economy is continually improving, its recovery is not happening fast enough to erase all uncertainty among consumers,” Martha Mitchell Meade, Manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said in a statement.

Good news for travelers  – the majority of whom will travel more than 50 miles over the holiday weekend – this year: Gas prices in Virginia could remain under $3 per gallon in some rural areas.

“Not only is Thanksgiving the least expensive holiday of the year, gas prices across the nation and in Virginia are at their lowest levels since 2010,” said Meade.

The national average is currently $3.24 per gallon; just five cents shy of its lowest level of the year at $3.19 per gallon on Nov. 13, 2013. Regardless of recent increases, AAA expects gas prices to decline in the weeks ahead. The average in Virginia is $3.25.

AAA says the busiest travel day will be Wednesday. Thanksgiving continues to be an auto-dominant holiday as 1.1 million Virginians plan to drive. Air travel is expected to decrease 4.1 percent as 98,527 holiday travelers play to fly, says AAA