According to a report from the AAA auto club, The number of Americans traveling away from home for Thanksgiving will be up only slightly this year from 2008. They surveyed 1,350 households and estimate there will be about 33.2 million people traveling by car this year — a 2.1 percent increase from last year.

But there will be a 6.7 percent decrease in the number of air travelers, totaling 2.3 million this year, continuing a decade-long decline of Thanksgiving air travel.

AAA officials said the expected increase reflects improved consumer confidence from a year ago, when Thanksgiving travel dropped 25 percent following the country’s housing and economic problems. Americans may feel more financially secure and be more willing to travel, the report says.

AAA forecasts about 2.9 million people will take other modes of transport, including trains and buses. That’s up about 1.2 percent from last year.

Amtrak expects Wednesday to be its heaviest single travel day of the year, with as many as 125,000 passengers nationwide.

The rail system is bracing for the holiday by running more trains with higher capacity on its lines in the Pacific Northwest, Chicago area and the Northeast corridor. Most of those will run on the busiest days — the day before Thanksgiving, and the Sunday after.

Others are staying put. Tami Howlett, 41, a teacher from Tulsa, Okla., said as a single mother with two kids she decided to spend Thanksgiving at home to save money.

“We’re just trying to keep it limited and save money for the summer,” Howlett said. “You just have to appreciate what you have.”

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