PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- AAA expects Thanksgiving travel to decline slightly this year because some people still lack confidence in the economic recovery.
"While the economy continues to improve, the sluggish pace of the recovery is creating uncertainty in the minds of some consumers and therefore AAA is projecting a slight decline in the number of Thanksgiving travelers this year," said Lloyd P. Albert, AAA senior vice president of public and government affairs. "On a positive note travel volumes are expected to remain well-above 2008 and 2009 levels when the recession caused a drop in travelers of more than 25 percent."
AAA projects that 43.4 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home for Thanksgiving, a decrease of 1.5 percent from the 44 million who traveled last year.
AAA expects travel originating from New England to decline even more, a drop of 2.5 percent. About 12.9 percent of the New England population is expected to travel during Thanksgiving, AAA said.
Nationally, 90 percent of Thanksgiving travelers, or 38.9 million, will travel by automobile, and, AAA notes, they will find the cheapest gas prices for the Thanksgiving holiday since 2010.
For example, Rhode Island drivers were paying an average of $3.659 per gallon for unleaded regular gasoline a year ago, 25 cents more than the $3.409 they're paying now, according to a AAA survey released Monday.
AAA defines the Thanksgiving holiday travel period as Wednesday, November 27, to Sunday, December 1. The nonprofit automobile club says Wednesday will be the busiest single day of travel with 37 percent of travelers departing for trips Nov. 27.