A record number of travelers will hit Florida's roads during the Memorial Day holiday, and airports are expected to be busy.
The AAA Automobile Club predicted Tuesday that 2.5 million Floridians will travel more than 50 miles during the period. AAA estimates that starting in 2023, Floridians' car trips will increase by 5% and air travel by 9%.
Orlando, Miami and Fort Lauderdale are among the top U.S. destinations around the May 27 holiday.
The forecast comes two weeks after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced he would suspend admission fees for all Florida parks over Memorial Day weekend. The fee waiver period runs from May 25th to May 28th.
Other popular destinations include Seattle, New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Denver, Boston, and Anchorage, Alaska.
“Memorial Day will be the start of a very busy summer of travel,” Debbie Haas, AAA vice president of travel, said in a prepared statement, adding that travel after the COVID-19 pandemic It added that interest in this year's Memorial Day weekend could be the busiest. Almost 20 years.
Nationwide, 43.8 million people are expected to travel for the holiday, an increase of 5% compared to the 2023 Memorial Day period.
Patrick de Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said the increased movement is unlikely to reverse the downward trend in gas prices as refineries undergo maintenance and ramp up production.
“Gasoline prices are slightly above last year's levels, but most Americans expect prices to fall before the holidays, a trend that could continue beyond June,” De Haan said. I'm optimistic.”
The average price of regular unleaded gasoline in Florida on Tuesday was $3.48, down 9 cents from the week before and 4 cents from the month before, according to AAA.
