Auto Club, MD Lieutenant Governor, Tourism and Law Enforcement Officials, Traffic Safety Partners kick off the summer travel season.
GRASONVILLE, MD –– AAA predicts more than 873,000 Marylanders will be traveling a distance of 50 miles or more this holiday weekend. That’s about 2% higher than last year and amounts to about 17,000 more Maryland travelers this year compared to last. Despite the increase in holiday travel volume projections, 2025 is projected to have the lowest national year-over-year growth rate in nearly a decade, for the Memorial Day holiday. Maryland’s record for the highest number of travelers for the holiday was set back in 2019 when more than 911,000 Marylanders traveled.
Economic uncertainties and concerns over rising prices are on the minds of travelers, however, many Americans are expected to take advantage of the long holiday weekend to spend time with loved ones, even if the trips are closer to home.
“Despite economic concerns, Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start to summer and for many Marylanders that will equate to a long weekend away from work and school – perhaps at the shore, bay, lake, or mountains, or at one of Maryland’s many tourist attractions,” said Ragina Cooper Ali, Manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA in Maryland and Washington, DC. “While prices remain high, travelers are carefully planning time away with a keen eye on their budgets and the economy.”
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2025 Memorial Day Holiday Maryland Travelers
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Total Travel
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Automobile
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Air
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Other
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(Bus, Train, Cruise)
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2025 (Forecast)
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873,221
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770,153
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73,305
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29,764
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2024 (Actual)
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855,624
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753,866
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73,802
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27,956
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2019 (Actual)
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911,325
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814,565
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73,404
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23,356
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% Change (2024 to 2025)
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2.06
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2.16
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-0.67
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6.47
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% Change (2019 to 2025)
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-4.18
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-5.45
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-0.13
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27.44
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Maryland Lieutenant Governor, Aruna Miller joined AAA, the Maryland Tourism Coalition, law enforcement officials and regional traffic safety partners today to kick off the unofficial start to the summer vacation season. The annual event, which was held near the water, at Bridges Restaurant in Grasonville, highlighted AAA travel projections, Maryland tourism highlights and upcoming milestones, as well as summer traffic safety and law enforcement efforts to keep Maryland roads safe.
This year, many of Maryland tourism partners will be celebrating “Maryland Milestones,” including Deep Creek Lake’s centennial, Ocean City’s 150 years of smiles, and the 25th anniversary of Maryland’s Historic Byways.
“Maryland’s 18 Scenic Byways offer ready-made travel itineraries filled with history, culture, culinary experiences, vibrant main streets, inspiring art, and picture-perfect views—ideal for a great road trip,” stated Ruth Toomey, Executive Director for the Maryland Tourism Coalition.
Automobile Travel
Speaking of road trips, more than 88% of travelers in Maryland, will be hitting the roads for the unofficial start to summer. Auto travel is predicted to be up 2% over last year. Some of that increase could be related to lower gas prices. Thanks to lower crude oil prices late spring, gas prices have not seen the usual seasonal spike, however, nationally, they are creeping back up just in time for the busy summer driving season. The national average is up 4 cents from last week, as the price of crude oil rises and demand goes up. “Typically, the seasonal increase in gas prices starts earlier in the spring, but lower crude oil prices so far this year have kept that from happening,” Ali said. “Now, we’re starting to settle in a more typical pattern.”
Despite the upward trend, drivers are paying about 40 cents less compared to last year, which is good news for the record 39.4 million Americans expected to take road trips over Memorial Day weekend. Nationally, drivers are paying $3.17 on average for a gallon of regular unleaded. (As of May 19th, 2025) That’s up four cents in the past week, but down 42 cents over this day last year.
In Maryland, drivers are paying an average of $3.09 (5/19) which is down 43 cents from this day a year ago. Twenty-four states have gas price averages under $3/gallon. “With schools in our region set to wrap up the school year soon, and many families planning summer vacations, there will be greater demand at the pumps and prices will likely follow suit,” Ali said.
Air Travel
More than 73,000 Marylanders are set to take to the skies for the holiday, which is a slight decrease over the number of air travelers last year at Memorial Day. According to AAA booking data, domestic airline tickets are about 2% more expensive than at this time last year.
AAA reminds those flying to their holiday destinations to:
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Check your flight status before leaving for the airport: Download the airline app and check your flight status before setting out.
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Get there early: Airports will be crowded. Arrive at the airport at least two hours early for domestic flights and three hours for international.
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Understand expectations: Review TSA guidelines for getting through security and pack accordingly.
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REAL ID: If you have not yet obtained your REAL ID and plan to take a domestic flight over the Memorial Day holiday, you will not be able to use your regular state-issued driver’s license. That’s because the new federal security standards require your license to be REAL ID-compliant for domestic flights. TSA has a list of acceptable identifications, including a valid US passport that you may use if you do not have REAL ID. Please note that this list is subject to change at any time without notice, so TSA highly recommends that you check the list regularly before traveling. To learn more visit TheExtraMile.com.
Travel by Other Modes
In the “other” category, which includes bus, rail and cruise travel, nearly 30,000 Marylanders are predicted to travel 50 or more miles. This category is now surpassing pre-pandemic numbers from 2018 and 2019, but doesn’t reach the record numbers seen in the early 2000s when more people were choosing trains and buses post 9/11. “Much of this year’s ‘other’ category growth can be attributed to the popularity of cruising,” Ali said. AAA projects a record 19 million Americans plan to take a cruise in 2025.
National Holiday Outlook
Nationally, AAA predicts more than 45.1 million people will travel 50 or more miles for the holiday, which is about 3% higher than the number of holiday travelers we saw in 2024.
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Of those travelers, about 87% are expected to drive to their destinations. That amounts to 39.4 million people hitting the roads.
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3.6 million passengers nationwide are expected to take to the skies for a getaway, up 1.8% from 2024.
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Just over 2 million are expected to travel by bus, rail or cruise in the “other” category.
Best/Worst Times to Drive
INRIX, a provider of transportation data and insights, expects the afternoons over Memorial Day weekend to be the most congested. Travelers should hit the road during the morning hours. Boston, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, DC are the metros that can expect the heaviest traffic.
Traffic Safety
Law enforcement officers across the region will be out patrolling the highways for the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Typically, holiday weekends are among the most dangerous times on our roadways.
“The Maryland State Police is committed to ensuring those who live and visit our state remain safe on the roadways while getting to their destinations,” said Lt. Colonel Daniel Pickett, Chief of the Field Operations Bureau. “As we head into Memorial Day and the summer months, travelers are encouraged to drive sober, focused and alert, obey the speed limit, and look twice for motorcyclists.”
“The MDTA Police and our law enforcement partners will target aggressive, distracted, and impaired driving this Memorial Day weekend,” said MDTA Police Chief Colonel Joseph F. Scott. “These selfish driving behaviors are a choice, and they put everyone at risk.”
Traffic safety partners urged motorists to take responsibility while driving this summer to keep themselves, their passengers and others on the road safe, as well.
“The summer months play host to not one but three U.S. holidays – Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day – where, on average, nearly four-out-of-ten (37.6%, NHTSA, 2023) of U.S. traffic deaths involve drunk drivers underscoring the need this summer to make a plan, drive sober and buckle-up,” said Kurt Erickson, President of the Maryland nonprofit Washington Regional Alcohol Program or WRAP.
Move Over
AAA reminds drivers to always Slow Down and Move Over for tow trucks, police, fire and EMS, and other first responders. Maryland’s ‘Move Over’ law also requires drivers to slow down, and if possible, move over, for any stationary vehicle displaying hazard lights, flares or emergency signs. “That buffer of space may be the difference between life and death for someone who is stopped on the roadside changing a tire, diagnosing a mechanical issue, or waiting for help,” said Ali.
Holiday Forecast Methodology
Travel Forecast
In cooperation with AAA, S&P Global Market Intelligence (SPGMI) developed a unique methodology to forecast actual domestic travel volumes. The economic variables used to forecast travel for the current holiday are leveraged from SPGMI’s proprietary databases. These data include macroeconomic drivers such as employment, output, household net worth, asset prices including stock indices, interest rates, housing market indicators, and variables related to travel and tourism, including gasoline prices, airline travel, and hotel stays. AAA and SPGMI have quantified holiday travel volumes going back to 2000.
Historical travel volume estimates come from MMGY’s TRAVEL PERFORMANCE/MonitorSM. The PERFORMANCE/MonitorSM is a comprehensive study measuring the travel behavior of U.S. residents. MMGY contacts over 50,000 U.S. households each month to obtain detailed travel data, resulting in the unique ability to estimate visitor volume and spending, identify trends, forecast U.S. travel behavior and position brand, all after the trips have been taken.
The travel forecast is reported in person-trips. In particular, AAA and SPGMI forecast the total U.S. holiday travel volume and expected mode of transportation. The travel forecast presented in this report was prepared the week of April 14, 2025.
Because AAA holiday forecasts focus on domestic leisure travel only, comparisons to TSA passenger screening numbers should not be made. TSA data includes all passengers traveling on both domestic and international routes, whether traveling for work or leisure. Additionally, TSA screens passengers each time they enter secured areas of the airport, therefore each one-way trip is counted as a passenger tally. AAA focuses on person-trips, which include the full round-trip travel itinerary. As a result, direct comparisons of AAA forecast volumes and daily TSA screenings represent different factors.
Memorial Day Holiday Travel Period
The Memorial Day holiday travel period is defined as the five-day period from Thursday, May 22 to Monday, May 26. The five-day holiday length is consistent with previous holiday periods dating back to 2000.