"While the economy continues to be rocked by waves of occasional uncertainty, improved economic performance from one year ago should cause more Americans to take vacations this Memorial Day holiday weekend," said Glen MacDonell, director of AAA Travel Services.
Trips by auto are expected [image-nocss] to increase in popularity with 87% or 28 million people reaching their destination by driving. This is an increase of 5.8% from last Memorial Day when 26.4 million travelers went by motor vehicle. This Memorial Day weekend AAA does not expect the price of gasoline to average more than $3 per gallon.
Leisure air travel also is expected to grow slightly with 2.15 million holiday flyers expected. This would be an increase of 2.4% from one year ago when 2.1 million flew. Trips by other modes, including rail, buses and watercraft, will be the dominant means of travel used by 6% of all travelers.
Average spending will top $800 and average distance traveled will be 626 miles. The average distance traveled by Americans this Memorial Day holiday weekend is forecast to be approximately the same as one year ago, 626 miles, versus 620 in 2009, AAA reported. Median spending is estimated to be $809 this Memorial Day. This is a sizeable reduction from one year ago, when Americans reported average spending plans of $1,052; 61% of Americans will spend time with friends and relatives over the holiday.
As North America's largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides nearly 52 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. AAA's projections are based on economic forecasting and research by IHS Global Insight. The Boston-based economic research and consulting firm teamed with AAA in 2009 to jointly analyze travel trends during the major holidays. AAA has been reporting on holiday travel trends for more than two decades.
Click hereto view the complete AAA / IHS Global Insight 2010 Memorial Day holiday forecast, which includes regional breakdowns.
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