U.S. travelers planning to get away Memorial Day weekend will be in good company this year. AAA released survey results on Thursday that projected around 32.1 million Americans will hit the road during the holiday weekend.

The estimate is a 5.4 percent jump over last year when only 30.5 million Americans traveled during Memorial Day 2009.

This year will be bring the highest levels of air, car and overall travel since 2007.

The number of Americans traveling by car is expected to rise by 5.8 percent, outpacing the overall jump in travelers. Around 28 million people are estimated to drive to their holiday destinations, which will account for 87 percent of all travel over Memorial Day.

Americans will also take more flights during Memorial Day weekend, up 2.4 percent from last year. About 2.15 million holiday fliers are expected to take to the skies.

The surge in travel, however, does not mean that American are spending more on vacations. On the contrary, travelers during Memorial Day 2010 are expected to spend much less on travel this year.

AAA estimates that median spending during Memorial Day will drop to $809 compared to about $1052 that was reportedly spent last year.

Holiday travelers looking for a good deal to aid their thriftiness will find prices the same or slightly better than 2009. Though airfare prices mirror last year, AAA reports that car rental rates are project to drop 15 percent to an average of $36.65 per day, and hotel rates are expected to fall slightly as well.

Despite gasoline costing 50 cents more than a year ago, AAA does not expect the average price of gasoline go higher than $3 a gallon during the time frame.

The travel estimates come from an annual survey the automobile club conducts with analysts at IHS Global Insight.

AAA bases its survey on round trips of 50 miles or more from home with a time frame between May 27 and May 31.

Related Links on PeterGreenberg.com:

• Memorial Day 2009: Travel Expected to Increase, Despite Gas Price Rise
• National Parks Travel
• America the Beautiful: Hike America’s Trails

By Adriana Padilla for PeterGreenberg.com