Millions of people will be on the road this Christmas in Texas, leading to one of the busiest holiday travel seasons on record.
Across Texas and around the world, people will be traveling by sea, air, and land, KCENTV reported. About 9 million will be traveling from the Lone Star state, and most of those travelers will be on the road, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
“Even more people will be driving compared to last year from Texas when it comes to the end-of-year holiday travel forecast,” AAA Texas Vice President and General Manager Galen Grillo told KCENTV. “Nearly 8 million Texans will be traveling by car.”
“And you know falling gas prices are certainly a welcome holiday gift for travelers after the record highs we saw this summer,” Grillo added. “Fuel prices have been quickly declining in recent weeks and by Christmas, many Texans will likely be paying less for gas than they were last holiday season.”
Since last summer’s record high, gas prices have dropped substantially, as The Dallas Express has previously reported.
Grillo stated that 2022 could be the third-busiest holiday travel year on record.
“AAA projects that 2022 will be the third busiest end-of-year holiday travel period that we’ve seen on record since AAA began tracking end-of-year holiday travel in the year 2000,” Grillo said.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, roads and airports were less busy for the holiday season, KCENTV reported. Grillo shared that, while some people are still concerned about COVID and other issues, many people will still be traveling.
Over 100 million people across the country will be on the move.
“Even though there are concerns about inflation and the pandemic that are holding some people back from traveling this holiday season, nearly 113 million Americans are venturing out to reconnect with loved ones or just recharge their batteries,” Grillo told KCENTV.
The travel rush may be further complicated by below-freezing weather, with temperatures in Dallas dropping as low as 12 degrees this weekend, as The Dallas Express has previously reported.