AAA expects record 45 million Americans to travel for Memorial Day

The forecast marked a slight increase from last year’s 44.8 million travelers and topped AAA’s previous estimate of a record 44 million, which had stood from 2005. Of the 45 million travelers expected this year, 39.1 million planned to drive and 3.66 million planned to fly, underscoring how heavily the holiday still depends on road trips even when gasoline is expensive.

The strength of the forecast points to a simple consumer priority: Americans are still protecting leisure travel. Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer, and AAA travel officials said demand remains strong despite higher fuel prices. That suggests households may be absorbing some of the added cost rather than abandoning plans, especially for trips that have become a familiar seasonal ritual. The numbers also hint at pent-up demand that has not fully faded, with travel continuing to hold up even as broader household budgets remain under pressure.

Air travel tells a different part of the same story. AAA said average ticket prices for flights were lower than last year for travelers who booked early, giving some consumers a narrow opportunity to offset higher costs elsewhere. But CBS News reported that the national average domestic airfare was about $383, up $89 from a year ago, while gas prices were up $1.42 per gallon from a year earlier. Together, those figures show why this summer is being shaped by what analysts have called vacation inflation: the cost of getting away is rising across the board.