With one of the snowiest Decembers in years blanketing Iowa, record numbers of residents are expected to leave the state during the year-end holidays — many heading for warmer destinations.

AAA-Iowa spokesperson Brian Ortner says more than nine million people across a seven-state region that includes Iowa will travel between December 20 and January 1. That’s about a one-percent increase over last year, while nationwide travel is projected to rise more than two percent.

Ortner says the continued rebound from the pandemic is driving the surge.

“People are eager to travel — that’s the biggest thing,” Ortner says. “Even six years removed from COVID, there’s been a mental shift. Travel has become more of a need-to-do rather than a want-to-do.”

Warm-weather destinations continue to dominate

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