AAA projects most Memorial Day travelers since 2005

Experts expect Memorial Day travel to hit its highest point in more than a decade, with most of the predicted record-setting travel taking place on U.S. roads.

AAA projects that 39.3 million Americans will travel more than 50 miles from home during the weekend, which is one million more than last year and the most since 2005. Of the 39.3 million expected travelers, AAA says 34.6 million of them (88.1 percent) will be on the nation’s roads, despite a two-year high in gas prices. The Memorial Day holiday travel period is defined by AAA as Thursday, May 25 to Monday, May 29.

“The expected spike in Memorial Day travel mirrors the positive growth seen throughout the travel industry this year,” says Bill Sutherland, AAA senior vice president of travel and publishing. “Higher confidence has led to more consumer spending, and many Americans are choosing to allocate their extra money on travel this Memorial Day.”

According to Waze, a crowd-sourced traffic and navigation app, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York are the busiest cities during Memorial Day weekend based on accident and traffic jam data from last year.