AAA: 37.2 Million Americans to Kick Off Summer with a Memorial Day Getaway

AAA Northeast projects 37.2 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more from home during the Memorial Day holiday weekend, a 4.7 percent increase from the 35.5 million people who traveled last year and the highest travel volume for the holiday in 10 years.

Kicking off the summer driving season, 33 million travelers will be driving to their destinations.

More than 831,000 Massachusetts residents will be among the expected travelers, 755,000 by car, also the highest volumes in 10 years.

Highlights from 2015 Memorial Day Travel Forecast:

• The 2015 Memorial Day forecast is expected to mark the highest travel volume for the holiday in 10 years, since 2005.
• The 4.7 percent increase over Memorial Day 2014 is the highest forecast growth rate for any of the holidays tracked by AAA since Independence Day 2012.
• More than 88 percent of travelers (33 million) will travel by automobile, an increase of 5.3 percent over last Memorial Day.
• Holiday air travel is expected to increase 2.5 percent to 2.6 million leisure travelers.
• Travel by other modes of transportation including cruises, trains and buses, is expected to decrease 3.6 percent this Memorial Day, to 1.64 million.
• Travelers will encounter higher average daily car rental and lodging costs this year, while airfares are down slightly compared to Memorial Day 2014.

“Following a harsh winter, many Americans are trading in their snow boots for flip flops and making plans to start the season with a vacation getaway,” said Lloyd P. Albert, AAA Northeast Senior Vice President of Public and Government Affairs, in a press release. “AAA is expecting more Memorial Day travelers this year than any time in the past 10 years as confident consumers come out of hibernation ready to explore national parks, beach destinations and America’s great cities.”

A number of economic factors are contributing to the large increase in holiday travelers this year. “A strong employment market and low gas prices have driven consumer optimism to new highs and boosted Americans’ disposable income. This is welcome news for the travel industry,” said Albert.

With approximately 1,676,000 travelers, New England is projected to be up 5.1 percent over last year, slightly higher than the national average. More than 1.5 million New Englanders are expected to take their trips by car. In both cases the figures, just like nationally, are the highest they’ve been in ten years.

AAA Northeast is a not-for-profit auto club with 60 offices in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York providing more than 5.2 million local AAA members with travel, insurance, finance, and auto-related services. There is an office in Framingham.