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TRAVEL DAZE: More than 1.64 million Ohioans will be traveling for Thanksgiving
More than 1.64 million Ohioans will be traveling for Thanksgiving
By Elise Franco
As Thanksgiving approaches, people are preparing for what is one of the most heavily-traveled holiday weekends of the year.
Bevi Powell, AAA East Central division director of communications, said Thanksgiving is traditionally a holiday when more people travel, compared with summer holidays.
Powell estimates that this year the number of people traveling at least 50 miles from home, will be up 11.2 percent from 2009.
“The spending is lower because Thanksgiving travel is more family-focused. Because more people are staying with friends and family, it keeps the cost down,” she said. “The other holidays are more about the summer travel vacations.”
Mark Mraz, 26, of Cleveland, said he’ll be back in Youngstown for Thanksgiving but not before a brief visit to Las Vegas.
“This will actually be the first time I’ve taken a vacation before the holiday,” he said. “But I haven’t seen my brother since July, and he asked me if I wanted to go.”
Mraz, who grew up on Youngstown’s West Side before moving to Cleveland two years ago, said he’s looking forward to relaxing at home with friends and family.
“I think I owe it to myself to enjoy myself at least for a few days and not have to think about work and clients,” he said.
Mraz, who is driving from Cleveland to Youngstown after he returns from his Vegas vacation, will be among the millions expected to travel by car this week, Powell said.
She said she doesn’t have an estimated gas price for the holiday weekend, which is considered Wednesday through Sunday, but the national AAA pegs it at $2.75 per gallon. On Friday the average gallon of gas in the Youngstown area was $2.85, but by Sunday several stations in the Valley were selling regular grade at $2.69. In 2009, the average gas price for this time was $2.57.
“The price of gas really doesn’t have an impact,” she said. “Regardless, people still continue to take those travel trips. The gas portion of the budget is relatively small.”
Though many people stay with friends and family during their holiday visit, local hotel managers said they’re almost at capacity.
Jennifer Ruiz, general manager at the Fairfield Inn in Niles, said the 64-room hotel has been booked up for Thanksgiving week for about a month.
“Right now we’re looking to probably fill out Wednesday through Saturday night,” she said. “Last year, we did about 75 percent occupancy on Thursday and Friday, so not only are people are coming and staying, but they’re staying longer.”
Ruiz said she attributes the uptick in reservations to an increase in the overall economy in 2010, and those who do travel are coming home to see family.
“Generally this market, I think, does better over Thanksgiving weekend than, say, Easter or Christmas,” she said. “I just think people are more apt to go out of town over Thanksgiving. A lot of people from the area are coming back.”
Mike Moliterno, hotel manager for the Holiday Inn Boardman, said he expects his 158-room hotel to be at capacity on Friday and very near filled the rest of the week.
“Really, we’ve been very busy since mid-May,” he said. “There’s a different mix during Thanksgiving ... You have a lot of people coming in to visit their families. This one has a little bit more of a unique twist to it.”