AAA Expects Busiest Memorial Day for Travel Since 2005

This year’s Memorial Day weekend will be the busiest one for travel in almost two decades.

According to AAA’s projections, 43.8 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home this Memorial Day holiday, a 4% increase over 2023 and just a tick below the travel record for the holiday, which came in at 44 million in 2005.

Most of those travelers will drive, which is typical for the holiday—AAA projects 38.4 million people will travel by car, the highest number AAA has projected since it began tracking in 2000.

AAA expects 3.51 million to fly, an increase of 4.8% over 2023 and 9% over 2019. That would make this the most crowded Memorial Day weekend at U.S. airports since 2005, which marked the high point of the industry’s post-9/11 rebound.

Paula Twidale, the senior vice president of AAA Travel, said that not only do the numbers mean a busy kick-off to summer, but also signal a busy season ahead.

“We haven’t seen Memorial Day weekend travel numbers like these in almost 20 years,” she said. “We’re projecting an additional one million travelers this holiday weekend compared to 2019, which not only means we’re exceeding pre-pandemic levels but also signals a very busy summer travel season ahead.”

For this year, the most popular domestic destinations for U.S. travelers are the usual ones—Orlando, Seattle, New York, Las Vegas, and Anaheim/Los Angeles. For Americans going abroad, the most popular cities are Rome, Vancouver, London, Paris, and Dublin.