AAA Expected to Rescue More Than 353,000 Motorists |
| LEXINGTON, Ky. — Nearly 43 million Americans will kick off their summers with a Memorial Day weekend getaway, according to forecasts by AAA. The long holiday weekend, marking the unofficial start of summer vacation season, will see the second-highest travel volume on record for the holiday since AAA began tracking volumes for Memorial Day travel in 2000. This year’s anticipated number of travelers is surpassed only by the record set in 2005. Overall, an additional 1.5 million more people will take to the nation’s roads, rails and runways compared with last year, a 3.6 percent increase. “Americans are eagerly anticipating summer’s start and lower gas prices are fueling Memorial Day weekend travel,” said Lori Weaver Hawkins, manager, public and government affairs, AAA Blue Grass. “Consumer spending remains strong, helped by solid job and income growth. Families continue to give priority to travel when they decide how they will spend their disposable income. Near-record numbers of them are looking forward to doing just that for Memorial Day.” Orlando, New York City and Las Vegas are the top destinations in the U.S. this Memorial Day weekend, based on advance AAA Travel bookings. For those traveling internationally, Europe is the destination of choice, with Rome, London, Dublin and Paris the most popular locales. Motorists Urged to Avoid Peak Travel Times The vast majority of holiday travelers will drive to their destinations. INRIX, a global transportation analytics company, says these motorists can expect travel delays on major roads to be more than three times longer than normal during evening commute time. Large metro areas will experience the biggest delays. “Travelers should anticipate delays to start on Wednesday and continue through Memorial Day. Our advice to drivers is to avoid the morning and evening commuting times or plan alternate routes,” said Trevor Reed, transportation analyst, INRIX. INRIX predicts motorists will experience the greatest amount of congestion on Thursday, May 23, and Friday, May 24, in the late afternoon as commuters leave work early and mix with holiday travelers. Planes, trains and automobiles: travel forecast breakdown
AAA expected to rescue more than 353,000 motorists
Travelers to enjoy lower hotel and car rental costs |
| Methodology AAA’s projections are based on economic forecasting and research by IHS Markit, a London-based business information provider. For the purposes of this forecast, the Memorial Day holiday travel period is defined as the five-day period from Thursday, May 23 to Monday, May 27. In cooperation with AAA, IHS Markit developed a unique methodology to forecast actual domestic travel volumes, using macroeconomic drivers such as employment; output; household net worth; asset prices including stock indices; interest rates; housing market indicators and variables related to travel and tourism, including prices of gasoline, airline travel and hotel stays. The complete AAA/IHS Markit 2019 Memorial Day holiday travel forecast is available here. |
| AAA provides automotive, travel and insurance services to 57 million members nationwide and more than 600,000 members in Kentucky. AAA advocates for the safety and mobility of its members and has been committed to outstanding road service for more than 100 years. The not-for-profit, fully tax-paying member organization works on behalf of motorists, who can now map a route, find local gas prices, discover discounts, book a hotel and track their roadside assistance service with the AAA Mobile app for iPhon e, iPad and Android. For more information, visit www.aaa.com. |
| About INRIX: INRIX is the global leader in connected car services and transportation analytics. Leveraging big data and the cloud, INRIX delivers comprehensive services and solutions to help move people, cities and businesses forward. Our partners are automakers, governments, mobile operators, developers, advertisers, as well as enterprises large and small. |
