Travel experts say low temperatures and high gasoline prices won’t be enough to stop Iowans from hopping in their cars and seeing their families for the holiday this week.
Dawn Duffy, spokeswoman for Triple-A-Iowa, says Thanksgiving travel will be up this week, but not by much.
Duffy says “Reduced consumer confidence and higher travel prices will slow the growth of Americans’ travel plans but will not keep families home this Thanksgiving.”
Triple-A projects that more than 37-million Americans will take a trip of 50 miles or more from home this week, just under one-percent more travelers than a year ago. Duffy details how most of us will be getting around for Thanksgiving.
About 83-percent of all holiday travelers are expected to go by motor vehicle — so Duffy says to anticipate busy roads, plan ahead, know your route, buckle up and don’t drink and drive. About 12-percent of Americans will be flying during the Thanksgiving week, while the remaining five-percent will be going by train, bus or other mode of transportation. Gasoline prices are still high, but Duffy says they’ve come down significantly in the past several weeks.
Nationwide, motorists are paying 2-25 a gallon for regular unleaded. In Iowa, the average is 2-10 a gallon, down about 40-cents a gallon in the past month but still 30-cents a gallon higher than a year ago. Duffy says “Prices for gasoline, hotel rooms and rental cars have increased, but that will not keep people from traveling. You’d be hard pressed to tell Grandma that you weren’t coming for Thanksgiving dinner just because it will cost an extra ten-dollars to fill up the gas tank.”