Expect crowded roads this Memorial Day weekend across Florida, a new study from AAA finds, especially as the Sunshine State is home to the top destination for travelers.
AAA released its Memorial Day weekend projections on Thursday as it expects 2.08 million Floridians to hit the road and travel more than 50 miles this weekend. That’s 66,000 more travelers from last year, an increase of 3.3 percent.
Across the nation, AAA expects more than 39 million Americans to hit the road, making it the busiest Memorial Day weekend since 2005. Most of them--more than 34.5 million--will be driving while another 6 million will be flying over the Memorial Day weekend.
“The expected spike in Memorial Day travel mirrors the positive growth seen throughout the travel industry this year,” said Vicky Evans, an assistant vice president with AAA - The Auto Club Group. “So far in 2017, travel bookings with AAA in Florida are up 17 percent, compared to the same period last year. Higher confidence, rising wages, and recent gas price declines have bolstered consumer spending, leaving many Americans with more money to spend on travel this Memorial Day.”
Still, even with more Floridians on the road, AAA issued a sour note. While gas prices across the Sunshine State had been dropping for the last month, AAA noted they were starting to go up again with an average of $2.31 at the gallon, six cents more than what Floridians paid on Memorial Day last year.
"Gas prices are now rising alongside oil prices, due to another week of declining crude oil and gasoline stocks, and rising demand," said Mark Jenkins, a spokesman for AAA - The Auto Club Group. "Fuel prices should follow an upward path through the rest of the week, the rate of which will depend on the outcome of today's OPEC meeting on production cuts. Regardless, gas prices should not fluctuate to levels that would cause Americans to alter their holiday travel plans."
Based on its own travel bookings, AAA found Orlando to be the most popular destination for travelers this Memorial Day weekend. This is leading to a boom for car rentals in Central Florida as Orlando is the third busiest airport in the nation when it comes to renting a car.
