More than 1.2 million people from Michigan are expected to travel 50 miles or more from home during the Memorial Day holiday weekend, AAA said.
That’s 79,000 more people than last year and just 36,000 less than before the pandemic in 2019, the Dearborn-based auto club said Monday, two weeks out from the first summer holiday of the year.
It’s the third-highest Michigan travel volume for the holiday period, just behind 2018 and 2019, AAA said. Around 1.1 million travelers from Michigan will be driving to their destinations, which is 62,000 more than last year, while 66,000 will travel by air, which is over 7,000 more passengers than last year.
“Memorial Day weekend is the kickoff to what promises to be a very busy summer travel season,” Debbie Haas, vice president of travel for AAA, said in a Monday statement. “Despite various inflationary pressures, consumer spending is strong, and Americans still want to travel. Because of that, we’ve seen demand come roaring back, just shy of pre-pandemic levels in Michigan.”
Michigan gas prices have moved lower in recent weeks, yet it’s too early to know if that downward trend will continue in the lead-up to the summer kick-off, AAA said. However, it’s unlikely that prices will come anywhere near the state average that holiday travelers paid last year of $4.60 per gallon.
Michigan drivers are paying an average of $3.34 per gallon for regular unleaded as of Monday. This price is .37 cents less than this time last month and $1.02 less than this time last year.
The Memorial Day holiday travel period is defined as May 25-29.
Friday, May 26, will be the busiest day on the roads, according to INRIX, a provider of transportation data and insights, AAA said. The best times to travel by car during the holiday weekend will be in the morning or evening after 6 p.m. The lightest traffic days will be Saturday and Sunday.
Michigan holiday travel figures align with national travel numbers, which are also still slightly behind pre-pandemic levels, according to AAA’s 2023 Memorial Day Travel Forecast.
AAA projected 42.3 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home this Memorial Day weekend. That’s 2.7 million more travelers than last year. But, fewer people than reported in 2019 (42.8 million) and 2005 (44 million).
AAA: Over 1.2M from Michigan to travel for Memorial Day
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