This story was updated on Dec. 12, 2024, at 3:44 p.m.
Around 3.7 million Georgians will travel during the holidays this year, breaking the end-of-year traveling record for the state.
The AAA projects that the number of residents who will travel at least 50 miles from home from Dec. 21 to Jan. 1 this year will beat last year’s record of 3.6 million.
Around 3.3 million of these Georgians will be traveling by auto, a new record for the state, and 198,366 will be traveling by air. In addition, 176,164 will be traveling in other ways, such as by bus, train and cruise.
“Many travelers, particularly families with young children, prefer the flexibility and lower cost of road trips,” said AAA spokesperson Montrae Waiters in a recent press release. “Gas demand in December goes down as the weather gets colder, more people work remotely, and holiday shoppers purchase their gifts online rather than in person.”
According to AAA, Georgia gas prices this year are “competitive” with last year’s prices; Georgia’s current gas prices are around $2.90 per gallon, while prices during the last two weeks of 2023 ranged from $2.96 to $3.01 per gallon.
Overall, AAA is expecting that more Americans will travel for the holidays than ever before. Around 119.3 million people will travel at least 50 miles from their homes from Dec. 21 to Jan. 1, exceeding the record set in 2019 by 64,000 people.
“Travelers should expect the roads, airports, and cruise terminals to be more crowded than normal,” said Vice President of Travel for AAA Debbie Haas. “So, finalize your travel plans now and give yourself extra time to get to your destination. We also suggest travel insurance, which provides assistance in the event winter weather or something unexpected interferes with your plans.”
AAA is attributing this year’s record-high travel projections to higher consumer spending overall, strong employment numbers and rising wages and steady economic growth.
With a record number of drivers on the road in Georgia, transportation data service INRIX is also expecting the worst traffic delays to occur during the weekends before Christmas and New Year’s Day, with the single worst day of traffic being Dec. 22.
For the metro Atlanta area, the most congested route will be from Atlanta to Augusta via Interstate 20 East on Dec. 22 at around 1:45 p.m., with an estimated travel time of 2 hours and 54 minutes.
