AAA projects Memorial Day weekend travel to hit a 10-year high

TAMPA, Fla. — Memorial Day weekend is traditionally seen as the start of the summer vacation season, and AAA projections indicate it could be the busiest Memorial Day travel period in a decade.

AAA, which defines the Memorial Day weekend as Thursday through the May 25 holiday, is forecasting that 37.2 million Americans, including more than 1 million Georgians, will travel at least 50 miles from during the holiday period. If that projection holds true, officials with the auto club say, it would be the heaviest-traveled Memorial Day weekend since prerecession 2005.

“Americans have more money in their pockets this year due to rising wages and lower gas prices,” said Brent Stahlheber, senior vice president of brand marketing and travel for AAA. “Those factors, coupled with other improvements in the overall economic picture, should help generate the highest traveled Memorial Day holiday in a decade.

“This is welcome news for the travel industry, which should see this upward momentum carry into the summer.”

If the projection turns out to be accurate, travel volume would be up about 4.7 percent from 2014, when 33.5 million people hit the roadways, skies and cruise ships on Memorial Day weekend. That would be the highest year-to-year growth rate for any holiday travel period tracked by AAA since Independence Day weekend three years ago.

As usual, the vast majority of U.S. travelers — at 33 million, about 88 percent — will drive to destinations like Orlando, Fla., and the Gulf Coast. Working in motorists’ favor are what is expected to be five-year low for the holiday as far as gas pump prices.

While there’s usually an uptick at the pump when the driving season “officially” starts, prices late last week were averaging $2.679 nationally, which was 96 cents per gallon below the same time in 2014, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

Georgia motorists, the report said, were paying an average of $2.556 a gallon, down $1.08 from a year ago. in Florida, where many Southwest Georgians travel to during the vacation season, the average late last week was a bit higher at $2.617, though that was $1.045 cheaper that motorists were paying in Florida last year.

Looking at some Florida destination spots, the Fuel Gauge Report showed average pump prices of $2.643 at Daytona, $2.574 at Jacksonville, $2.522 at Orlando, $2.611 in the Pensacola area and $2.541 at Tampa/St. Pete.

“Low gasoline prices are having a ripple effect throughout this year’s travel forecast,” said Mark Jenkins, a AAA spokesman. “Low pump prices are making auto travel more appealing, which explains the decline in use of ‘other modes of transportation’ like bus and train. The price of gas often declines heading into the Memorial Day weekend. That will likely happen again this year, as long as oil prices stop rising.”

The 33 million U.S. motorists would be a 5.3 percent increase from last year. Air travel is expected to be up 2.4 percent to 2.6 million people, while other modes — trains, cruise ships, buses and the like — is expected to decrease by 3.6 percent to 1.64 million. Airfares for the top 40 domestic flight routes are about 2 percent cheaper than last year, AAA officials said. Car rentals, meanwhile, are up about $19 a day compared to last year, they said.

For Georgia, the numbers are on track with national projections by AAA. The auto club expects just more than 1.07 million Peach State residents to travel during the Memorial Day holiday period, up 4.9 percent from 2014. Of those, 962,089, 89.7 percent, are expected to drive, up 5.4 percent from last year. Air travel for Georgians is projected to be up 2.5 percent, which 78,282 choosing that method, while 31,604 will take “other” modes, down 3.5 percent from last year.

Once an individual or family reaches a destination, the cost of staying at a hotel will probably be higher than last year, according to AAA bookings. AAA’s Leisure Travel Index shows the average nightly stay at one of its Two Diamond rated hotels will be up an average of 16 percent at $144, while a Three Diamond stay will cost $182 a night, up 7 percent from the 2014 Memorial Day weekend.