Record numbers of Americans will travel this Memorial Day holiday despite the highest gas prices ever recorded for a holiday. AAA estimates that 37.2 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home this holiday, a 2.2 percent increase from last year.
Approximately 31.1 million travelers (84 percent of all holiday travelers) expect to go by motor vehicle, a 2.2 percent increase from the 30.5 million who drove a year ago. Another 4.2 million (11 percent) plan to travel by airplane, up 3.2 percent from last Memorial Day. A projected 1.9 million vacationers (5 percent) will go by train, bus or other mode of transportation, about even with a year ago.
Holiday auto travelers will find national gas prices currently averaging $2.12 for a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline, down 10 cents from last month, but about 9 cents higher than a year ago. Before being broken several times this year, the previous national average record-high price was $2.05 recorded on May 26, 2004, coinciding with last year’s Memorial Day weekend.
Air travelers generally will be paying less to fly this weekend. AAA’s Leisure Travel Index shows flights over the holiday weekend averaging 10 percent less this year than last year. Rental car rates will be down about 4 percent. These savings will be offset by higher hotel rates, though, which are up 10 percent from a year ago.
“Pump prices may be higher than last year, but gasoline remains a relatively small part of most auto travelers’ vacation costs,” said Wendy Weigel, vice president of Travel, AAA Minneapolis. “Those who are flying will benefit from lower airfares, but will also encounter fuller planes and busier airports. However you travel, it will be busy.”
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Related Travel Information
With the launch this Memorial Day weekend of the summer travel season, road-tripping Las Vegans face a summer of high but stable gasoline prices.
"The price of gasoline has been coming down, but consumers shouldn't start celebrating yet: It's still higher than it was a year ago," said Jenny Mack, a spokeswoman for AAA Nevada.
The local cost of a gallon of unleaded gasoline on Friday averaged $2.31, compared with $2.28 the same day a year ago, Mack said. The statewide average per gallon was $2.36 on Friday, compared with $2.30 the same day last year. Nationally, gasoline cost $2.11
The sun is shining, it’s a three-day weekend and there’s a hint of summer in the air. It’s just enough to overlook that $2.30 per gallon at the pump.
Despite enduring some of the highest gas prices in the nation, it seems there’s more concern about the forecast for the Memorial Day holiday.
“Weather has effected Utah travel more than anything this year,” said Lori Pendle, a spokeswoman for the St. George Travel Council. “It’s been an interesting year with so much flooding, but I don’t think gas prices will keep people home.”
Rain or shine, AAA reports over 330,000 Utahns plan to
Soaring gasoline prices won't keep Americans off the roads this Memorial Day weekend, a survey released Wednesday shows.
About 31.1 million people are expected to be on the road during the three-day weekend, up from 30.5 million last Memorial Day, according to a poll of 1,000 adults conducted by the AAA and the Travel Industry Association of America, or TIA.
Last Memorial Day, gas cost $2 per gallon on average, according to AAA. As of Monday, it was $2.11, according to the federal Energy Information Administration.
The price peaked April 11 at $2.25 per gallon, the federal agency said. The average price per
More people will hit the highways and airways this Memorial Day weekend despite the fact that gas prices rate among the highest ever recorded for this holiday, according to AAA. Roughly, 37.2 million Americans say they will travel 50 miles or more from home this weekend. That’s 2.2 percent higher compared to last year. Moreover, about 84 percent of travelers, or 31.1 million people, will go by car despite the national average of $2.12 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline, which is down in recent months but still some six cents higher than a year ago.
"Memorial day is a very
The government of the state of São Paulo launched yesterday (10) the programme "Journeys for Tourism Development in São Paulo", to identify the tourist potential and develop the activity in 67 cities in the state. For such, the government will invest US$ 39.5 million in infrastructure, urbanization and sanitation in these cities. As well as that, another US$ 4.4 million will be invested in advertising the tourist destinations in the state.
We have to sell our product better. We have potential to make tourism in the state grow. Adventure tourism, religious tourism, beaches, mountains, historic sites, handicrafts," stated governor Geraldo
