Oregon sees record travel numbers for holiday season
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — With Christmas only two days away, now is the busiest travel time of the year in the nation – Oregon is no exception.
Every year, AAA runs the numbers to estimate the travel forecast for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. According to AAA, we are setting records this year with 115 million Americans, including 1.6 million Oregonians traveling by air, ship and rail.
“That’s more than a third of the population,” said Marie Dodds, Director of Government and Public Affairs for AAA Oregon & Idaho.
This is up more than 2% compared to last year and the highest travel volume for the year-end holidays since AAA began tracking in 2000.
PDX — Flight Arrivals/Departures, parking
“We’ve seen travel rebound since the pandemic. And it always takes a few years for travel to get back to normal,” said Dodds. “We saw it after 9/11… and then we saw it again in 2008 with the Great Recession… So with the pandemic, we are seeing people rebound with travel. And travel is one of those things where when you can’t travel, you really miss it.”
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According to AAA, Saturday is going to be one of the busiest days for travel, especially during the hours of 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
AAA said roads will be busier during the middle part of the day. Pack patience along with everything else. They also found that some road trips can take anywhere from 20% to two times longer to reach the destination.
Drivers are enjoying lower gas prices. Nationwide the average price-per-gallon is $3.07 — the lowest price in 2 years.
In the event of inclement weather while you’re on the road, Dodds emphasized the importance of tires with proper traction, chains or tire socks, and knowing how to put them on. An emergency kit containing items like a shovel, flares, warm clothing, food and a charged phone is also helpful to have on hand.
Dodds added, “Before you leave during the winter, ask yourself: ‘Do I have enough provisions? If I am stranded somewhere for hours or worse, overnight, will I be able to keep everybody in my vehicle safe and comfortable?'”
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AAA also sees vehicle-related calls spike during the winter, according to Dodds, with the top the top four issues being dead batteries, lockouts, tire issues and extrications.
Air travellers
More than 7 million people are expected to fly over the holiday.
Additionally, every day in the coming week — aside from Christmas Day — is expected to be busy for air travelers, in particular. Dodds offered some helpful tips to make the travel process a little easier.
“This is the time that you definitely want to get to the airport two hours before your domestic flight, three hours before your international flight, because lines are going to be longer,” she said. “And if you can go without checking a bag, that’s great too. Carry on your bag if you can.”
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It was very busy at Portland International Airport. One of those traveling, Cat Lucier, told KOIN 6 News she went to Roseburg to visit family.
“I always love Oregon and just driving and, like, just seeing it all up here because I’ve come up here all my life,” she said. “We had like a week with family and we just, like, hung out. We had, like, dinners, we did some presents, like, for Christmas before we head home.”
According to AAA, the following are the top regional and international destinations at this time of year:
Top Regional Destinations
1) Los Angeles/Anaheim
2) Las Vegas
3) Orlando
4) Hawaii
5) San Diego
Top International Destinations
1) London
2) Los Cabos
3) Puerto Vallarta
4) Rome
5) Cancun
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