Planes, trains & automobiles: More than 383,000 South Dakotans estimated to travel this holiday
AAA shares projections that would set holiday traffic record
SIOUX FALLS – This year’s Christmas season will once again be a gift to the travel industry with record-setting numbers expected starting this Saturday and continuing through New Year’s Day.
“We’re expecting a really strong continuation of this record-setting year,” said AAA spokesman Shawn Steward.
Nationally, an estimated 119.3 million travelers are expected to hit the roads and airways for the holidays, an increase of 2.8 percent.
Steward said the projection is that a record 383,355 South Dakotans will travel 50 miles or more from home for the travel period, an increase of 1.6 percent from last year.
About 92 percent of state travelers will drive to their destinations, up 1 percent, while statewide airline travel is expected to increase 6.5 percent from the holiday period last year.
Sioux Falls Regional Airport Executive Director Dan Letellier said he doesn’t doubt that projection as through November the number of boardings are up 6 percent from last year and on pace for another record year.
Starting this weekend, he said about 2,400 to 2,500 fliers are expected to board each day through New Year’s except for Christmas Eve Day and Christmas Day.
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