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Travel Expected To Be Up For Memorial Day Weekend
May 25, 2018
Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer, and Americans will kick off the season by traveling in near-record numbers. According to AAA, more than 41.5 million Americans will travel this Memorial Day weekend, nearly 5 percent more than last year and the most in more than a dozen years (2005).
Even as gas prices rise like outside temperatures, AAA still expects an additional 2 million people will take to planes, trains, automobiles and other modes of transportation. INRIX, a global transportation analytics company, expects travel delays on major roads could be 2-3 times longer than normal, with the busiest days being Thursday and Friday (May 24-25), as commuters mix with holiday travelers.
“Higher gas prices will not be enough to keep travelers home this Memorial Day weekend,” said Vicky Evans, Assistant Vice President, Travel Sales Development, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “A strong economy and growing consumer confidence are giving Americans all the motivation they need to kick off what we expect to be a busy summer travel season with a Memorial Day getaway.”
Florida Travelers
- Total travelers: More than 2.2 million Floridians will travel on Memorial Day weekend, 5.5 percent more than last year.
- Automobiles: The vast majority (89%) of Florida travelers will hit the road. A total of nearly 2 million Floridians will take a road trip, which is an increase of more than 100,000 people (5.5%) from last year.
- Planes: More than 177,000 Floridians will fly to their holiday destination, an increase of more than 12,500 individual passengers (7.6%).
- Trains, Buses, and Cruise Ships: Travel across these sectors will increase by 1.3 percent to 62,103 passengers (almost 1,000 more than last year).
- Florida gas prices for Memorial Day weekend will be the most expensive in four years.
The 88 percent of travelers choosing to drive will pay the most expensive Memorial Day gas prices since 2014. Gas prices averaged $2.72 in April, an increase of 33 cents from last year, due to expensive crude oil, record gasoline demand and shrinking global supply. However, these higher prices are not keeping holiday travelers home, with automobile travel expected to increase for the fourth straight year, by nearly 5 percent over last Memorial Day.
Last year, gas prices on Memorial Day averaged $2.37 nationwide ($2.31 in Florida). Although holiday prices at the pump are projected to be the highest in four years, AAA does not expect gasoline to come anywhere near 2014-levels, where the national average was $3.66 ($3.62 in Florida).
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