AAA: almost 2 million Ohioans will travel for Thanksgiving this year

So this year when road-trippers fill up, they’ll be getting an early holiday gift, spending 65 cents less than the average price of gas on Thanksgiving last year.

Drivers nationwide continue to experience significant yearly savings in the price of gas and AAA estimates that consumers are saving almost $350 million on gasoline every day compared to a year ago.

Nationally – 41.886 million (89.3% of all travelers), a 0.6% increase from previous year.

“Thanksgiving that’s even better because there are so many travelers and so many people that want to get out and shop without the prices going down they don’t get to”, said motorist Donna Clinton. Jeff Lenard, vice president of the National Association of Convenience Stores, said that with more money in travelers’ pockets, drivers may be more inclined to purchase snacks and travel farther than last year’s destinations. “We do know that automobile travel will likely be higher than what we’ve seen in recent years because of the lower gas prices”.

Prices are plummeting at gas pumps around the country, just in time for millions of Americans, hitting the road and traveling for Thanksgiving. “For those on the fence about taking a trip, these low gas prices could be all the incentive one needs to hit the road”.

Low crude prices have resulted in layoffs and work slowdowns throughout the oil-and-gas industry and have been blamed, in large part, for a rise in Houma-Thibodaux’s jobless rate. With an increase in supply while demand for gasoline “has really not picked up much”, prices have fallen at the pump.

“(But) for the average motorist, by and large, prices should remain at or below $2 a gallon”, he said.

The average price is $1.91 in Tennessee. But absent any disruptive events, gas prices should continue to fall through the year, she said. That is a 0.6 percent increase over previous year.

Lower gas prices have also fueled record-breaking domestic travel to Florida.

According to AAA’s Leisure Travel Index, airfares are projected to decrease 10 percent at Thanksgiving, landing at an average of $169 roundtrip across the top 40 domestic flight routes.

This means nearly 90% of travelers will be driving and only about 8% will be flying.