Memorial Day is often considered to be the official start of the summer season. Seeing as how 64 percent of American travelers are planning to embark on a vacation this summer, you can bet that Memorial Day will see a lot of vacationers, too.
In fact, AAA predicts that 43 million Americans will embark on a Memorial Day vacation this year.
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That’s the highest number of Memorial Day vacationers recorded since 2005. It’s also a 3.6 percent increase compared to Memorial Day last year.
37.6 million of these vacationers will hit the road to reach their destination. This is in spite of the fact that gas prices are nearing $3.00 a gallon in many parts of the country.
“Americans are eagerly anticipating the start of summer, and expensive gas prices won’t keep them home this Memorial Day weekend,” said Paula Twidale, vice president of AAA Travel.
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Of course, all of those vacationers will lead to some extra congestion for some of the country’s busiest roadways. Traffic times could inflate to nearly triple their usual rate during the Memorial Day holiday.
An additional 25 million Memorial Day travelers will reach their destination via plane, a 4.8 percent increase compared to last year. Finally, 1.9 vacationers will head out on a train, bus, or cruise ship.
Most Memorial Day travelers will stay in the States for their vacation. The top vacation spot is unsurprisingly Orlando, Florida, followed closely by New York City and Las Vegas.
Photo: Clément Bardot
For those vacationers that are looking to go international for a Memorial Day trip, Europe is the stop destination of choice. Cities like Rome, London, and Dublin top of the list of international destinations this year.
Memorial Day will be the kickoff for what looks to be one of the busiest summer vacation seasons on record. So if you’re planning a trip this Memorial Day, make sure that you prepare well ahead of time before you depart.
Source: AAA
Zachary Berry currently resides in the Dayton, Ohio area. However, he enjoys traveling from place to place, as he was born in Oklahoma City and has also lived in Albuquerque and Orlando (such is the life of a military brat). Zachary graduated from Ohio University with a major in Strategic Communication, which is fancy talk for advertising and public relations. Beginning his career at The News Wheel as a lowly intern, he was able to climb his way to the top, eventually claiming his place within the last cubicle on the left. Other jobs that Zachary has held include driving around a safari truck at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. When he’s not putting his nose to the grindstone, Zachary enjoys watching and critiquing movies and television. See more articles by Zachary.