Over 42 Million Americans Expected to Travel on Memorial Day Weekend: AAA

People wait to drive through the Holland Tunnel into New York during morning rush hour traffic in Jersey City, N.J., on March 8, 2023. (Ted Shaffrey/AP Photo)

The upcoming Memorial Day weekend—the unofficial start of the summer travel season in the United States—is expected to be one of the busiest ever in the country.

AAA, an automotive and trip-planning group, on May 15 projected 42.3 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home over the three-day holiday weekend. That’s a 7 percent increase over last year or 2.7 million more people.

“This is expected to be the third busiest Memorial Day weekend since 2000,” Paula Twidale, senior vice president of AAA Travel, said in a statement. “This summer travel season could be one for the record books, especially at airports.”

AAA’s forecast defines the Memorial Day travel period as May 25–29.

Air travel is expected to be up by 11 percent over last year, with 3.4 million people expected to fly over the holiday weekend. That figure exceeds 2019 levels by 5.4 percent or 170,000 more air travelers.

Plane tickets are about $274 but will likely spike as the unofficial kickoff to summer approaches, according to travel booking app Hopper. Meanwhile, international fares are the highest they have been in more than five years.

The majority of travelers will be driving to their destinations over the holiday weekend. Road trips are expected to be up 6 percent from last year, with more than 37 million Americans hitting the road.

Gas prices this year are lower than this time last year, but car travel is still expected to be down from pre-pandemic levels by about a half million travelers. The national average for regular gas was $3.53 on Monday, compared to $4.48 a year ago, according to AAA.

The price drops could explain why millions more Americans are expected to drive during Memorial Day weekend this year compared to 2022. However, drivers should expect long delays in major metro areas like Boston, New York, Seattle, and Tampa, INRIX, a provider of transportation data and insights, told AAA in its travel prediction.

“With lower fuel prices and more travelers on the road compared to last year, drivers should expect long delays this holiday weekend, especially in and around major metros as commuters mix with Memorial Day travelers,” Bob Pishue, transportation analyst at INRIX, said in a release.

May 26, around midday, will probably be the busiest time on the road, so people should try to drive in the early morning or after 6 p.m. to avoid sitting in traffic, according to INRIX. Traffic will likely be lightest on Saturday, May 27, and Sunday, May 28.

Meanwhile, AAA projects a total of 1.85 million travelers to take other modes of transportation, like buses and trains. That’s a 20.6 percent increase from 2022.

“We are seeing a demand for iconic cities, international vacation packages, and cruises with included amenities that provide more value for the price,” Twidale added.

Top domestic destinations over the Memorial Day weekend include Orlando, New York City, and Las Vegas, according to AAA booking data. Other popular destinations include Florida, Alaska, Seattle, Denver, Boston, Anaheim, and Canton, Ohio. Internationally, the top spots are Rome, Paris, Dublin, London, Barcelona, and Athens, the auto group said.

In cooperation with AAA, S&P Global Market Intelligence developed a unique methodology to forecast actual domestic travel volumes, leveraged from its proprietary databases. Historical travel volume estimates come from DK SHIFFLET’s TRAVEL PERFORMANCE/Monitor^SM, which measures the travel behavior of U.S. residents by contacting over 50,000 households each month to obtain detailed travel data.