Post-pandemic travel continues to set new records, and this Memorial Day weekend is no exception.
AAA projects 45.1 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home over the Memorial Day holiday period that began May 22nd thru Memorial Day, May 26th.
This year’s domestic travel forecast is an increase of 1.4 million travelers compared to last year and sets a new Memorial Day weekend record. The previous record was set back in 2005 with 44 million people.
AAA projects 39.4 million people will travel by car over Memorial Day weekend. That’s an additional one million travelers compared to last year. Though gas prices have jumped up slightly in the last week to 10 days, the Minnesota average of $3.03 per gallon is down 30 cents per gallon from last year at the same time. Wright County’s average price at the pump is $3.07 per gallon, also down 30 cents from last year’s $3.37 per gallon during the Memorial Day weekend. National gas price averages are at $3.18 per gallon.
Airports are also bracing for another bustling holiday weekend. AAA projects 3.61 million air passengers, a nearly 2% increase over last year when 3.55 million travelers took to the skies. While this Memorial Day weekend isn’t expected to set an air travel record (that was set back in 2005 with 3.64 million travelers), this year’s numbers are projected to surpass pre-pandemic levels by 12%.
