Memorial Day road trips will be highest since 2005, spending up 1.2 percent


More than 38 million Americans, the second highest ever and the highest number since 2005, will travel during the long Memorial Day weekend, the AAA has predicted. Most of them will drive. About 34 million will take trips of 50 miles or more during that time, which AAA assumes will begin for many people on Thursday, May 26, and run through Monday, May 30. The forecast total is about 2 percent higher than the 2015 Memorial Day holiday. AAA representative cited low gasoline prices as one reason for this year’s jump in road trips. 
Those traveling during Memorial Day weekend are expected to spend a total of $12 billion during their trips, which would be 1.2 percent more than last year’s holiday weekend, according to the U.S. Travel Association. The majority of travelers will take road trips, spending a total of $220 each, but air travelers are expected to spend an average of $990, according to the U.S. Travel Association.
Memorial Day travel by North Carolina motorists is expected to be the highest on record during the holiday weekend due to the lowest gas prices in years, AAA Carolinas reported Monday, estimating 1.05 million North Carolina motorists will be on the road during the holiday weekend, up 2.1 percent from 1.03 million for the same period in 2015. AAA Carolinas expects 84,124 North Carolinians to travel by air and 33,804 of them to travel by cruises, trains and buses for the holiday.