U.S. holiday travel to rise to six-year high, AAA says

U.S. travel during the Christmas and New Year's holidays will be 1.6 percent greater than last year and the most since the 2006-2007 season, AAA said.About 93.3 million people will journey 50 miles or more from Dec. 22 to Jan. 1, the nation's biggest motoring organization said in a statement today. That's up from 91.8 million a year earlier and the fourth consecutive gain.

"The primary economic indicators all show improvements from one year ago, but there does not exist the kind of strong consistent growth necessary to encourage stronger travel growth," AAA said.Automobile drivers and passengers will account for 84.4 million of the holiday travelers, up 1.3 percent from last year and the most in AAA records dating to 2002. They'll make up a smaller part of the total than in 2011, 90 percent compared with 91 percent.

The number of air travelers will rise 4.5 percent to 5.6 million. Air travel will account for 6 percent of all travel, up from 5.9 percent a year earlier.The lowest average published airfares will fall 3 percent to $203 for round-trip tickets, AAA said, while the daily rental rate for a mid-sized car will jump 40 percent to $56.