What's driving this extra busy holiday travel season?
NEW YORK -- More than 98 million Americans will travel for the holidays this year, the most in the last 10 years, according to the American Automobile Association. Robert Sinclair, media relations manager for AAA New York, joined CBSN on Tuesday with the big reason why.
According to Sinclair, the answer is the improving economy. People need money to spend on plane tickets, hotels and restaurants when they travel. "We see household net worth is up, GDP is up, basic income is up," he said.
AAA says that 91 percent of holiday travelers will drive, which means the falling gas prices are giving consumers even more to spend on other travel needs. "It's putting the wind in the sails of travelers," Sinclair said.
The national average for a gallon of regular unleaded gas is $2.37. According to Sinclair, the price has fallen for a record 89 straight days. With the decline in prices, Americans will save $92 billion on gasoline over the next year, which works out to roughly $750 per household, Sinclair said.