AAA conducts Memorial Day travel forecast
(NBC, KYMA/KECY) - The unofficial start of the summer travel season in the United States is shaping up to be busy.
AAA predicts that 42.3 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home this Memorial Day weekend. That is a 7% increase.
Memorial Day road trips are up 6% compared to last year; 37.1 million Americans will drive to their destinations. An increase of more than 2 million.
Gas prices will also be lower this holiday compared to last year when the national average was more than $4.00 a gallon.
However, car travel this holiday will be shy of pre-pandemic numbers by about 500,000 travelers.
More people will be taking other modes of transportation this holiday such as buses and trains.
Those travelers are expected to total 1.8-million, and increase of over 20% compared to last year, and nearly 3.4-million travelers are expected to fly to their destinations this Memorial Day weekend, which is an 11% increase over last year.
