AAA is predicting the highest number of drivers on the road for this year’s Memorial Day weekend since it first began tracking it in 2000.
In total, 43.8 million travelers are expected to go 50 miles or more from home for the upcoming holiday, marking a 4% increase from last year and nearly breaking 2005’s record of 44 million travelers for Memorial Day weekend.
Of those 43.8 million travelers, 38.4 million will be driving, maintaining a 4% increase from last year’s number of drivers. It’s a 1.9% increase from 2019, and is the highest number of drivers AAA has predicted for the holiday since it began tracking it.
Gas prices aren’t expected to be much different from last year at roughly $3.57, but those prices may increase as summer begins.
“We haven’t seen Memorial Day weekend travel numbers like these in almost 20 years,” said AAA Travel Senior Vice President Paula Twidale. “We’re projecting an additional one million travelers this holiday weekend compared to 2019, which not only means we’re exceeding pre-pandemic levels but also signals a very busy summer travel season ahead.”
