Highways and airports are expected to be busier for this Thanksgiving holiday week, although experts say the tens of millions of Americans traveling will economize in their decisions.

From Wednesday through Sunday, 1.7 million Ohioans are expected to travel a roundtrip that involves travel of 50 miles or more from home, an increase of 1.2 percent for Ohio compared to last Thanksgiving.

“That’s actually higher than the increase that we’re seeing nationally,” said AAA spokeswoman Kimberly Schwind.

Nationwide, 43.6 million Americans are expected to travel, which is a slight increase from last year’s 43.3 million travelers, according to AAA. More are expected to make their trips last longer even though they will go shorter distances, which are two trends this year, said AAA spokesperson Cindy Antrican.

The average trip is expected to decrease from 706 one-way miles in 2011 to 588 miles this year, Antrican said. That signals travelers are choosing non-airline routes more, as 90 percent of all travel this week is expected to come by automobile. That’s a 0.6 percent boost nationwide and 1.2 percent rise in Ohio.

But airlines will continue to keep planes full. Using a wider date range of Nov. 16 through Nov. 27, Airlines for America, the airlines’ trade association, said it expects 24 million passengers to fly during that period, up slightly from last year. Those travelers will keep planes close to 90 percent full on the busiest days, making airlines, airports and the Federal Aviation Administration extra aware of maintaining schedules because of how many people a delay would affect.

Wednesday and Sunday are expected to see the majority of people traveling, with 46 percent of all travelers leaving for their destinations on Wednesday and 36 percent returning home on Sunday, according to AAA.

“Keep in mind that there are going to be a lot more people on the roadways and it’s going to take you longer to get anywhere,” Schwind said. “So keep that in mind, give yourself a little bit of extra time, and be patient.”

Schwind also cautioned drivers to be mindful of drunk drivers.

Statistics bear that warning out, as Thanksgiving is the top drunk driving holiday nationwide, according to Kristy Duritsch, executive director of the Safety Council of Southwestern Ohio.

“Butler County has one of the highest OVI arrest rates in Ohio,” Duritsch said. “Each year, thousands of people nationwide are killed in alcohol-related accidents. In Ohio, there were 3,229 vehicular crashes on Thanksgiving weekend along, 16 of them fatal. Just about half of those were alcohol-related.”

However they travel, Americans are expected to make the long weekend last longer. AAA expects 25 percent of travelers to return home on Monday.

“People are going go stretch it out,” Antrican said.

With that added activity, airports in particular are expected to focus on customer service. During the past two decades, airports that significantly increased amenities and options for travelers, especially to help ease the frustration of a delay or any other interruption in smooth travel.

No matter the preparation, airline delays will occur, so airports have increased attention to customer needs, officials said. They have added charging stations for electronics, changed staffing at eating outlets or businesses inside the airports for busier times and created other ways to relax if a traveler is stuck, they said.

Such attention to travelers is a growing part of the airport industry, said Melissa Sabatine, vice president of regulatory affairs for the American Association of Airport Executives.

“It can be frustrating, especially if you don’t fly a lot,” she said. “Airports are doing whatever they can to make it easier.”

Air travel is expected to decline for a second straight year, with 3.14 million Americans, including more than 123,000 Ohioans flying this holiday week, according to AAA. That’s a decrease of 1.7 percent nationally and 1.1 percent in Ohio.

Most Americans traveling from the Wednesday through Sunday period will do so by car. They are planning to scrutinize costs including gas, food, lodging and incidentals more closely than in some previous years as they try to stretch dollars, Antrican said. Statistics indicate that more people will travel in the region including Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin than the national average, so service businesses, restaurants and lodging places could see an even bigger boost in this region than other parts of the country.

Nationally, the average amount travelers are expected to spend on their trips will drop from $554 last year to $498 this year, according to AAA.

“People are trying to find all kinds of ways to economize,” Antrican said. “I don’t care of it’s 15 cents more per gallon. That’s 15 cents a gallon that could be in your pocket.”

This week begins a period of traveling through the beginning of 2013 with plenty of focus on weather. Although this week’s forecast poses no significant threats, officials will be constantly watching radars and communicating with meteorologists to try to keep travelers on time, especially with planes more full than in previous years.

That takes a group effort, experts said, which is especially important during holiday periods like this week.

“If there’s a hiccup, it will affect a lot of people,” said William Fife, an aviation industry consultant and former deputy general manager of New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport. “These are important times for people, and the traveling industry needs to understand that.”

Ohio travel numbers dropped by about 25 percent in 2008 and continued falling in 2009 to reach a decade-low of slightly less than 1.5 million travelers, Schwind said. Then, pent-up demand for travel and a slowly improving economy combined to trigger Thanksgiving travel growth in Ohio during 2010 and 2011.