Money worries keep people home for the holidays
STEVENS POINT, Wis. (AP) — Fewer people may be traveling this holiday because of worries about money.
Wisconsin AAA spokesman Larry Kamholz says there might be a decrease in travel for the first time since December 2002.
Kamholz says 9.6 million people are expected to travel for the holidays in the Great Lakes region, which includes Wisconsin. That's a 3.2 percent decrease from last year.
Auto travel is expected to drop 3.2 percent from last year, while airline travel is expected to be down 10.8 percent.
Kamholz says even the drop in gas prices hasn't been enough to overcome worries about the economy and people see travel as an area they can cut back on.
Dec 24, 2008 at 11:08 a.m.
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The weather is not a bigger factor, especially for airline travel (you pointed out O'Hare is cancelling flights). For that to be true, people must've been waiting until the last couple days and seen the forecast and decided they weren't going to fly. Weather may have played a small part in people's decisions, but at least 90% of people's decisions to limit travel this year is due to economic conditions.
Dec 24, 2008 at 10:49 a.m.
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You got that right, Northman!
Dec 24, 2008 at 10:48 a.m.
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No, Northman, there was notably reduced travel at Thanksgiving as well, and people have answered affirmatively in polls that they are traveling less.
Dec 24, 2008 at 9:24 a.m.
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Roads are closed, O’Hare is cancelling flights, other northern airports are closed or delayed. Money might be a factor, but the weather is probably an even bigger factor in lower Christmas travel.
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