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OMAHA, Nebraska -- The AAA Auto Club expects more people to travel during the upcoming Memorial Day weekend.
"Estimations are that 39.2 million Americans are going to travel for the holiday weekend--that's 8.3 percent over 2021. It puts us back in line with pre-pandemic figures of folks who are going to travel," says Brian Ortner, in AAA's Omaha, Nebraska office.
He says they're also expecting a nearly five-percent increase in people who'll drive at least 50 miles or more from home this Memorial Day weekend--even with record-high gas prices.
"They're making choices like driving as opposed to flying, or spending one less night in a hotel room, or packing more food instead of going out to eat more--just to offset the costs," Ortner says.
With gas prices above $4 a gallon all across the Midwest, he says Memorial Day weekend drivers should do some planning ahead.
"Determine how much you can expect to spend on gas during your trip as prices have gone up. The best line of defense--consider that will continue to happen over the coming days and weeks. If gas prices do start to drop, you have that extra budgetary discretion to work with," Ortner says.
For those planning on a driving trip for the Memorial Day weekend, AAA says Thursday and Friday before the holiday are anticipated to be peak traffic days.