More than 42 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home over Memorial Day weekend, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
That's a 7% increase over 2022 Memorial Day numbers.
"This year, 2.7 million more people will travel for the unofficial start of summer compared to last year, a sign of what’s to come in the months ahead," say AAA officials.
“This is expected to be the third busiest Memorial Day weekend since 2000, when AAA started tracking holiday travel,” says Paula Twidale, senior vice president of AAA Travel. “More Americans are planning trips and booking them earlier, despite inflation. This summer travel season could be one for the record books, especially at airports.”
Memorial Day road trips are expected to be up 6% over last year, according to the AAA. Some 37.1 million Americans "will drive to their destinations, an increase of more than 2 million.
"Gas prices are lower this holiday compared to last year, when the national average was more than $4 a gallon. Despite the lower prices at the pump, car travel this holiday will be shy of pre-pandemic numbers by about 500,000 travelers."
