Most will be going by car, but a significant number are taking to the skies.
Towson, Md (KM). More than 918,000 Marylanders will be taking out-of-town trips during the upcoming Memorial Day Holiday weekend. That’s according to AAA Mid-Atlantic, which says this is a 3.4% increase compared to 2018. “We certainly have seen that our economy is robust; that people have the desire to travel and to get away,” says Ragina Cooper Averella, Manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic.
The auto club says this is the fifth consecutive year Maryland’s travel volume is expected to exceed 800,000.
The Memorial Day travel period is defined as the five days from Thursday, May 23rd to Monday, May 27th.
Averella notes that many people are traveling by car, despite an average gasoline price in Maryland of $2.79 per gallon, which his two-cents higher than last week, and two-cents more compared to last month. “We’re not expecting the gas prices are going to go too much higher; certainly they are fluctuating,” she says. “But all of that said, people certainly seem to have the desire and willingness to travel, and are doing so.”
But many travelers are doing some economizing to budget in the price of filling up while on vacation, says Averella. “They may eat out a little less, spend a little less money on shopping or entertainment and other activities. But if they want to get away, they still find a way typically to do that. They just may cut back in other areas that they have more discretion over,” she says.
AAA says more people will be driving to their destinations–about 819,000–but there is a significant number who will be traveling by air. The auto club says 74,500 people from Maryland will be boarding a plane to their vacation destinations. “That’s an increase of about 5.2% compared to last year,” Averella says.. . “And air travel actually represents the highest percentage growth across all travel modes.”
AAA’s Leisure Travel Index says airfares are 1% higher compared to Memorial Day 2018. The average price of a round trip along the top 40 domestic routes is $171.
Nationally, AAA says about 43-million Americans are expected to travel during the upcoming Memorial Day Holiday. Out of that 37.6-million will be heading out by car, which is 3.5% more than last year. When it comes to air travel, 3.25-million will be taking to the skies, which is a 4.8% boost compared to 2018.
By Kevin McManus