Record Setting Christmas Holiday Travel Numbers Expected

It is expected to be a record-setting Christmas holiday season for travel across Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota! Here are the numbers.

According to ABC News, over 122 million people are expected to travel between December 20 and January 1.

That is about a 2.2% increase over last year's previous record. This narrowly breaks the pre-pandemic record set in 2019.

Air travel: A record 8.03 million people will fly domestically this holiday season...the first time the number has exceeded 8 million.

Road trips: About 109.5 million people will drive, making up nearly 89% of all holiday travelers

Other modes: Trains, buses, and cruises are seeing nearly 10% growth, with cruise bookings particularly strong (up 37% from last year)

With Christmas falling on a Thursday this year, travel is expected to spike both the weekend before and the weekend after the holiday.

Gas prices are also lower than last year. The national average recently dropped below $3 per gallon for the first time in four years.

The busiest travel days are expected to be December 20-23 before Christmas and December 27-29 afterward.

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