(The Center Square) – Florida motorists are seeing higher prices at the pump this week as they hit the road for the holidays.
The state’s average price for regular gas rose to $2.862 Monday compared to $2.790 last Monday, according to the American Automobile Association’s latest numbers.
The increase remains below last month’s average of $3.108 per gallon of regular gas as well as the state average this time last year of $3.004, AAA reported.
South Florida maintains some of the highest averages in the state, with places like Palm Beach and Monroe seeing prices above $3 per gallon, AAA reported. North Florida tends to see averages on the lower end.
The national average price of gas continues to fall. This is the first time in four years it has fallen below $3 a gallon, AAA said. The national average dropped to $2.855 this week, the cheapest end-of-year gas prices seen since 2020.
Saturday began the year-end holiday travel period where AAA projects a record number of 122.4 million Americans will be hitting the road. That’s an increase of 2.2% over last year.
The amount of people willing to travel for the holidays has been growing every year since dipping to 81.7 million people in 2020. Last year was the first December to see more people traveling for the holidays than pre-COVID’s 119.3 million travelers in 2019.
Florida’s warm climate keeps it among the favored domestic destinations for holiday travelers. Orlando is the top city, followed by Fort Lauderdale and Miami, according to AAA.
AAA said it anticipates nearly 90% of holiday travelers this year to use vehicles, a 2% increase over last year.
The amount of people planning to take domestic flights this holiday season grew by 2.3% compared to last year, AAA reported, even as air travel has become more expensive.
Fliers can expect to spend 7% more on a round trip domestic flight, averaging around $900 a ticket, according to AAA.
