The motorist organization forecasts a decline of 0.9% in overall travel compared to last year, with 34.8 million Americans making a journey of 50 miles or more.
AAA President Robert Darbelnet blamed the decline on “an up and down economy” and “the impact of the end of the payroll tax holiday on working families.”
A steep decline in projected air travel dragged down the overall forecast. AAA expects holiday air travel to decrease 8%, to 2.3 million travelers this year.
The group said that fliers are suffering from “fee fatigue,” fed up with paying extra for services that were once included in the price of a plane ticket, such as reservation changes, checked baggage, pet travel, food, nonalcoholic drinks, and so on.
