Thanks to a sudden decline in gasoline prices and less concern about terrorism, nearly 40 million people will be hitting the highways and taking to the air as they travel to celebrate Thanksgiving, travel industry officials say.
And another travel crowd is expected next month for the Christmas travel rush.
"While gasoline prices remain high historically, consumers seem to be shrugging them off while planning Thanksgiving holiday trips," said Jim Hanni, spokesman for AAA Kansas in Topeka.
If you want to keep the car in the garage and fly to your holiday destination, you might still be able to find a good airline fare both for Thanksgiving and Christmas, said John Novotny of Travellers Inc., 831 Mass.
"It depends on the city, but I wouldn't want anybody to get discouraged and not call to find out what the rates are," Novotny said.
Increased confidence in travel security has been a factor in the growing number of people traveling the past two years, Novotny and Hanni said. About 37 million Americans -- 3.1 percent more than last year -- will travel 50 miles or more from home for Thanksgiving, pushing the travel volume above pre-9-11 levels, Hanni said.
Most travelers -- about 31 million or 82 percent -- will go by car to their Thanksgiving destination. That's despite a national average price for regular gasoline that last week was $1.95, or 7 cents higher than this time last year, according to the automobile association.
In Kansas last week, the average price was $1.87. It was $1.88 in Lawrence, the association found.
Gasoline prices recently have declined because U.S. oil companies have replenished supplies after taking a hit when late-summer Florida hurricanes damaged or destroyed oil well platforms, Hanni said.
Despite so many people traveling by car, Kansas City International Airport is gearing up for its busiest time of the year. During a week and a half around Thanksgiving, an estimated 325,000 people will pass through the terminal gates, KCI officials said.
"Thanksgiving is our biggest holiday season," said KCI spokeswoman Tara Smith. "Christmas and New Year's are heavy, but not like Thanksgiving."
A typical day at KCI sees 25,000 people pass through the terminals. That total is expected to be about 29,000 people on Wednesday and about 33,000 people on Sunday, officials said.
Travelers at KCI will find new and improved accommodations in the airport's three terminals, Smith said. There are new restaurants and expanded news and gift shops, Smith said.
Business already had picked up last week at car rental agencies, managers said.
| 40 million -- Number of Americans traveling this week. 37 million -- Number who will travel 50 miles or more. 31 million -- Number of travelers going by car. $1.95 -- Average price per gallon of gasoline nationwide. 7 cents -- Average increase in price for gallon of gasoline since last Thanksgiving. |
"We are pretty darn busy," said Mark Hobart, manager at Hertz of Lawrence, 1120 E. 23rd St. "At Thanksgiving and Christmas you get people who, a couple of weeks out, start pouring it on, especially the college folks."
Hobart advises anyone wanting to rent a sedan to reserve it two or three days in advance. If you want a van, sport utility vehicle or other vehicle with special equipment, it's best to make the reservation a month ahead of time, he said.
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