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Fewer people expected to travel for holiday

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By Dee Henry | Hickory Daily Record

Published: November 24, 2008

HICKORY - Most local people are keeping to the national trend this Thanksgiving and staying close to home.

But, for those talking to the Record, the reason has nothing to do with the current economic situation or gas prices. It's simply how the holiday fell this year.

"I'm staying home for Thanksgiving this year, but it's not because of gas prices," said Laura Alexander of Hickory. "It's because my husband is coming in from Florida and taking advantage of the cheap gas prices on the way up."

Alexander's husband, Dan, works in Tallahassee, Fla., and comes home to Hickory whenever he can. The family will celebrate with a traditional turkey meal Thursday.

Floyd Crawley, of Hickory, said he and his wife, Katherine, also will be staying in Hickory. But their dinner won't be held until the weekend due to time conflicts.

"We're staying in Hickory and having the whole family in," he said, mentioning family holiday plans tend to change every once in a while due to scheduling conflicts and accommodating all family members.

Kevin Reed, of Hickory, said his family always stays in Hickory, but the place for dinner changes.

"My mother used to do it, now my sister makes dinner or sometimes we go out," Reed said. "This year, we're going out."

Reed said the family will enjoy a meal at Timberwood in Morganton on Thursday.

Like these Hickory residents, AAA Carolinas said fewer Americans will travel this year. This decline marks the first in six years. Those who are traveling are keeping it short distance, with 41 million traveling at least 50 miles, a decline of 600,000 people from last year. Overall, AAA says this year marks the first decline in Thanksgiving travel since 2002.

"The overall state of the economy continues to present real challenges for some Americans looking to travel this Thanksgiving," said AAA President Robert Darbelnet, in a prepared statement.

The faltering economy has cost 1.2 million jobs this year. As many Americans' spending power has declined, so has their ability to travel.

This decline is evident despite the lower gas prices this year. This year, the national average price for unleaded gasoline is just over $2, according to AAA. Last year at this time, that average was slightly more than $3.

Air travel is not appealing to many either, as only about 4.5 million, or 11 percent of the total population, plan to travel by airplane, a just over a 7 percent decrease from last year. AAA said that 3.26 million Americans, or 8 percent, plan to travel by train, bus or other mode of transportation.

Despite the decline in air travelers, the Air Transport Authority, the industry group for airlines, expects planes to be more than crowded than last year as a result of cuts in airline capacity. The industry, according to the ATA, is still being affected by jet fuel prices, which have remained high unlike regular gasoline.

The Official Airline Guide, a guide for business travelers, expects that the airline industry will cut capacity by 9 percent during the fourth quarter.

President George Bush announced Tuesday that military air space will be freed up on the West Coast, the Midwest and the Southwest for commercial flights to alleviate congestion during the Thanksgiving holiday.

"This year, we're going to expand what we call the Thanksgiving express," said Bush, speaking to a gathering of members of the Department of Transportation.

He said the air space expansion will include areas over Los Angeles and Phoenix.

"We are not in the business of managing airlines, but we are in the business of making it easier for airlines to do what they're supposed to do," said Bush.

Bush said he was pleased with the results of last year's similar decision, which opened up military air space along the East Coast, from Florida to Maine, for commercial airlines.

People deciding to travel by car need to watch their speed, as the North Carolina Highway Patrol will be out in force over the holiday weekend. The slowdown operation will be much like one done in April, resulting in more than 11,000 drivers being ticketed. The operation will affect most heavily traveled highways and interstates in the state.

The highway patrol estimates the number of drivers moving more than 100 mph had increased by 175 percent during the last 10 years.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.