Holiday Weekend Travel Estimates

Nearly 1.1 million Michiganders are expected to travel for the Memorial Day weekend, a 1.3 percent increase over last year. According to a AAA Michigan, of those, nearly a million travelers will take a road trip, while another 60,000 people will travel by air. The remaining travelers will go by train, bus or ship. AAA’s Susan Hiltz says in addition to seasonal rising temperatures, improvements in several key economic factors are driving the expectation for more holiday travelers this year, such as car and home sales. She adds that gas prices are also a factor with prices down about a nickel a gallon from last year. Nationally, AAA Travel projects 36.1 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more from home during the holiday weekend, a 1.5 percent increase from the 35.5 million people who traveled last year.