Travel is on the rebound! AAA is seeing an influx in travel reservations with Memorial Day weekend kicking off the summer travel season amid an increase in COVID-19 vaccinations. In fact, AAA Western and Central New York saw its largest walk-in traffic day this week since the pandemic began!

The numbers
This year, AAA expects more than 37 million people to travel more than 50 miles for Memorial Day, from May 27 through May 31. That’s an increase of 60 percent from last year, and numbers are only down 13 percent from 2019.

Road trips
With 34 million Americans planning Memorial Day road trips, auto travel is expected to increase 52% compared to 2020.  Nearly 12 million more Americans will travel by car this holiday than in 2020, though this is still 9% less than in 2019. More than 9 in 10 Memorial Day travelers will drive to their destinations, as the good old-fashioned road trip remains popular. 

Top destinations for local road trippers
According to AAA’s Route Production department, which handles maps, TripTiks, and AAA TourBooks, the Eastern Seaboard will be very popular this holiday weekend and this summer season with local travelers. Top destinations include:

• Camping: New York State Parks
• Myrtle Beach, SC and Virginia Beach, VA
• The Jersey, Maryland and Delaware shores: Cape May, NJ; Rehoboth Beach, DE; Ocean City, MD 
• Cape Cod, MA and Bar Harbor, ME
• National Parks: Bryce and Zion, UT; Grand Canyon, AZ; Yellowstone, MT; Mount Rushmore, SD

Prices
According to AAA’s Leisure Travel Index, prices for hotels, car rentals and airfares are all higher this year due to demand. 

Car rentals
Daily car rental rates have doubled compared to last Memorial Day, topping out at $134. Some consumers have experienced high costs and limited availability of rental cars in some markets, due to rental companies selling off their fleet last year and now the chip shortage impacting auto manufacturers limiting inventory among rental companies.

Airfare and hotels
Top air destinations include Orlando, FL and Las Vegas, NV. Average airfares have increased 14 percent over last Memorial Day and mid-range hotel rates have increased between 29 and 34 percent, with nightly rates between $140 and $181 for AAA Two Diamond and AAA Three Diamond hotels, respectively. Remember to arrive at the airport 90 minutes early!

Pent up demand
Consumers have money to spend, and they are looking to spend more and stay longer on vacation. Travel ranks high among consumer spending due to pent up demand from the pandemic. 

Gas prices
Motorists are experiencing some pain at the pump – the national gas price average is $3.04, while the NYS average went up a penny since Monday to $3.08. Buffalo remains at $3 per gallon, while Rochester and Syracuse both increased by a penny this week to $3.03 and $3.04, respectively.