(The Center Square) – A record number of Americans are expected to travel on Memorial Day weekend in the Southwest and across the U.S., despite hikes in costs for gas and aircraft fuel.
Faced with the nation’s highest gas prices, drivers in the Southwest are likely to pay up at the pump this weekend as they join an estimated 45 million Americans in traveling for this year’s holiday.
“AAA is projecting 45 million Americans will be taking a trip of 50 miles or more away from home from Thursday through Monday,” AAA Southern California spokesperson Doug Shupe told The Center Square. “The vast majority of them, 39.1 million, will take a road trip. By air, we’re looking at 3.6 million Americans flying somewhere, and about 2.2 million will take another mode of transportation like a train, bus or even a cruise.”
The high rate of travel comes despite gas prices that continue to creep ever closer to all-time record highs amid the ongoing U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran.
The national average for a regular gallon of gas is up $1.35 from this time last year to $4.53 as the Southwest feels some of the country’s highest prices.
California leads the nation at $6.15 with Nevada at $5.25, Arizona at $4.83 and Colorado’s $4.76, according to AAA.
“I think [people] are still going to want to get out and take advantage of the three-day weekend and travel, even though it’s going to cost them more,” AAA Mountain West spokesperson Doug Johnson told The Center Square. “I think what they’re going to say is, ‘OK, gas is costing us more, so maybe I won’t be staying in as fancy of an hotel this time around, and maybe I won’t be going out to that fancy dinner.’ Maybe they’ll scale it back and go to a moderate dinner, stay in a cheaper motel or hotel.”
In Colorado and the Western states, Auto Group spokesperson Skyler McKinley said he thought high prices at the tank could push some people to stay closer to home.
“We’re blessed with a bounty of places within driving distance that are remarkable vacation destinations with the great outdoors,” McKinley told The Center Square. “So you actually might see a substitution effect for Westerners, who instead of opting to drive or fly across the country, will stick closer to home. But they’ll still get up and go out.”
He also cited a survey from the summer of 2022, when gas prices were at their highest, that showed more than half of people would change their driving patterns when the gallon hit $4, and three-fourths said they would drive less at $5.
“I anticipate that these everybody go-up, get-out American traditional holidays are still going to be strong,” McKinley speculated of the high fuel prices. “Where we might see travel adjusted is the rest of the summer.”
Despite the rising fuel prices, AAA reported that domestic flights over Memorial Day weekend are 6% cheaper than last year.
For the majority of travelers who will be driving over the weekend, the Southwest is home to some of the most popular markets for tourism. Las Vegas and Los Angeles are both within the five highest-demand markets for rental cars this weekend, according to Hertz.
People getting between Southwestern destinations should prepare for some serious traffic. The route to the most popular driving destination from Los Angeles, Palm Springs, is expected to see an 88% longer drive time over the weekend, according to AAA.
The AAA experts recommended drivers to make sure their cars are in top shape and to avoid speeding as a means to save on fuel prices this long weekend.
“Last Memorial Day weekend from Thursday through Monday, AAA came to the roadside rescue of 350,000 stranded drivers just in that five-day period,” said Shupe. “The primary reasons why people call AAA for help are dead batteries, flat tires and people getting locked out of their vehicle. So we encourage you to make sure that vehicle’s in good shape to prevent a roadside breakdown.”
