Even as Americans are being pummeled by dismal details about the economy, the flailing auto industry and job loss, there is some positive news for the travel industry on the horizon: AAA has projected that the number of Americans traveling this Memorial Day weekend will rise slightly from last year.
It’s expected that approximately 32.4 million people will travel 50 or more miles away from home, up 1.5 percent from last year.
In 2008, there was a significant drop from the previous year—from 35.3 million travelers to 31.9 million, mostly due to record fuel prices and a softening economy.
This year’s projected increase is being attributed to more affordable gas prices and a glut of travel deals as providers try to lure in business.
Road trips will dominate next weekend, with 83 percent of all travelers, about 27 million people, planning to travel by car. Although fuel prices are far more palatable than last summer, prices have reached the highest rate since November, climbing to a national average of $2.311 for a gallon of regular unleaded. In fact, nationwide surveys of 5,000 gas stations, conducted by the California-based Lundberg Survey, showed that prices rose about 25 cents over the past three weeks, but are likely to stabilize.
Air travel will see a dip, with about 2.1 million Americans, or 7 percent of travelers, boarding planes over the holiday weekend. Approximately 10 percent of travelers, or 3.3 million, will take other forms of transportation, including trains, buses and boats.
By Sarika Chawla for PeterGreenberg.com.
Related links: AAA, Houston Chronicle, CNN
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- America’s National Parks
- America the Beautiful: Hike America’s Trails
- Travel to American Presidential Libraries
- Summer Slopes
- America’s Accessible Heritage
