Updated at: 11/24/2009 9:39 AM | KSAX.com
By: Megan Matthews
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AAA: Thanksgiving Car Travel Up This Year

SAUKE CENTRE, MINN. - The holiday weekend is almost here, and there will be about 33 million people traveling by car this year, according to a AAA auto club survey.

The increase compared to last year is only 2.1 percent.  AAA says this means the economy is still on the minds of many Americans, preventing holiday travel.

Joe Johs and his family aren't traveling this year.  "We haven't really been out of town, because our children are in town," Johs said.

Johs says not having to travel makes things easier.

"I usually have to work the next day so it's nice that I don't have to travel," Johs said.

The slight increase in travel suggests a stabilizing economy, according to AAA.

Pat Super has family coming in from Browerville, Minn. and the Twin Cities, but she says she's not staying home because of the cost of travel.

"I don't think it's an issue.  If we want to go we go, we make adjustments," Super said.

Many people say it's a time to be with family, and if they have to travel they will.

"It's all about family," Super said.

It's about family and consumer confidence, according to AAA officials who say the increase means consumer confidence is up from last year.  People feel financial secure enough to travel.

Even though holiday travel is expected to increase, air travel will drop nearly seven percent this year, which adds to the decade-long decline of Thanksgiving air travel.

Written for the web by Megan Matthews

megan@ksax.com