This yr is predicted to be one of many busiest travel years in nearly twenty years, with about 43.8 million individuals anticipated to travel a minimum of 50 miles, based on AAA.
Joy Noelle Balanag booked her trip months in the past, hoping to beat the doubtless record-breaking summer time rush.
“I definitely am excited for this travel season. 2024 feels just like almost a breath of fresh air,” she informed CBS News. “I do plan on traveling on airplanes. I do plan on taking my car. Just, like, seeing where this summer season takes me.”
Balanag will not be alone. This Memorial Day weekend, AAA is anticipating a nearly 5% bump in airline travel over final yr and United Airlines alone is planning to fly greater than half 1,000,000 individuals a day from May 23 by way of May 28, which might be the airline’s busiest Memorial Day weekend ever. Delta is anticipating 3 million passengers complete over that very same stretch, a 5% enhance for the airline from 2023.
Most vacationers will drive that weekend, nevertheless, with AAA predicting a document 38.4 million individuals will hit the street. That’s a 4% enhance from final yr. Gas costs are much like the place they have been final yr, up about 8 cents a gallon nationally in comparison with final Memorial Day weekend.
“It goes back to that bucket list, YOLO, you only live once mentality, Aixa Diaz of AAA told CBS News. “Lots of people at the moment are going, ‘You know what? Let’s not take these journeys we at all times take with our households. Let’s get slightly bit extra adventurous.'”
One of the fastest-growing travel options since the COVID-19 pandemic is cruising.
The industry is expecting a new record high of nearly 35 million passengers this year, according to the Cruise Lines International Association. For the thousands on board the Carnival Firezne cruise ship’s inaugural sold-out sailing, which began in late April, vacation season started early.
Passenger Jeanine Stage of Arizona told CBS News what she likes best about cruising is, “That you get to go to a number of locations and also you unpack your suitcase as soon as.”
“You got food, entertainment, even the casino, if you’re into that, there’s shows,” she mentioned.
All informed, AAA is predicting 2024 will end simply narrowly behind 2005 because the busiest Memorial Day travel weekend because it started holding observe in 2000.
AAA expects the busiest time on the roads will be from midday to 7 p.m. on the Thursday and Friday earlier than Memorial Day. United Airlines mentioned that Thursday will be its busiest of the vacation weekend.
Among the highest locations this yr: Florida, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Denver.
