Photo courtesy of AAA

Photo courtesy of AAA

During the upcoming Memorial Day holiday weekend, AAA projects that 39.3 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home, according to the “AAA Memorial Day Travel Forecast,” an increase of 2.7% travelers than last year.

That is 1 million more travelers than year, creating the highest Memorial Day travel volume since 2005. The Memorial Day holiday travel period is defined as Thursday May 25 to Monday May 29.

"The expected spike in Memorial Day travel mirrors the positive growth seen throughout the travel industry this year," said Bill Sutherland, AAA senior vice president, travel and publishing. "Higher confidence has led to more consumer spending, and many Americans are choosing to allocate their extra money on travel this Memorial Day."

This year, 34.6 million Americans (88.1% of travelers) will drive to their destinations, an increase of 2.4% compared to last year, according to the report. When it comes to flying, 2.9 million Americans will take an airplane to their destination — an increase of 5.5% over last year.

AAA expects that U.S. drivers will pay the highest Memorial Day gas prices since 2015. The national average price per gallon today is $2.34, 11 cents more than last year.

More Americans are planning to rent cars this holiday weekend. AAA’s car rental bookings are 19% higher than last Memorial Day, according to the report.

Based on AAA travel bookings, the top destinations for Memorial Day include Orlando, Rome, London, Dublin, Vancouver, Seattle, Las Vegas, New York, Paris, and Honolulu.

Click here for the complete “AAA/IHS Global Insight Memorial Day Forecast.”

0 Comments