ARKANSAS, USA — Memorial Day weekend is almost here and AAA says they project a record number of Americans to travel.
According to a press release, AAA said they expect around 43.8 million people to travel more than 50 miles from their homes during the Memorial Day weekend travel period. AAA states that this number could reach the previous record, set in 2005.
Of 43.8 million predicted travelers, according to AAA, 34.8 million are expected to travel by car.
“This Memorial Day weekend is significant for a number of reasons,” Public Affairs Specialist for AAA Nick Chabarria said. “One, it's expected to be the second highest Memorial Day travel volume that AAA has seen since we started recording these back in 2000, and also this is the first major holiday travel holiday where we're going to see an increase over numbers from 2019 prior, to the pandemic.”
According to GasBuddy, a company that crowdsources data from fuel customers across the country, a survey showed that 76% of Americans plan to take a road trip between Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends.
The survey said that 60% of those travelers plan to travel during the long Memorial Day weekend.
GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis Patrick De Haan said gas prices play a role in whether or not people travel during the holiday.
“Gas prices were of utmost concern for a lot of people,” De Haan said. “In fact, when they choose where to stop and fill their tank up, gas price was the number one concern, and of course, with gas prices that are still relatively high, historically speaking, a lot of Americans are still trying to spend less on filling their tank up.”
De Haan added that there is some good news for Arkansans looking to travel by car during the long weekend.
“Average gas prices in Arkansas are down about 11 cents a gallon from a month ago,” De Haan said. “In Arkansas, it's the third cheapest state in the nation, and there's plenty of sub $3 gas prices throughout the state.”
De Haan added that national prices are down about 8 cents a gallon from a month ago.
With the busy weekend expected, Chabarria recommends people leave early.
“Thursday or Friday, those are expected to be the busiest travel days for the Memorial Day weekend,” Chabarria said. “The earlier in the day, the better.”
Chabarria added that he expects the heaviest travel congestion to be anywhere from noon to six or seven in the evening.
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