While road trippers will pay higher prices at the gas pump this year,
travelers can expect some relief in their wallets when paying for airfare,
car rentals and most mid-range hotels.
According to AAA’s Leisure Travel Index:
* Airfares are 7 percent lower than last Memorial Day, landing at an
average price of $168 for a round-trip flight along the top 40 domestic
routes.
* Hotels are also less expensive than last year. AAA Three Diamond
hotels are 14 percent less than last year, with an average rate of $186 per
night. Meanwhile, AAA Two Diamond hotels are 7 percent more expensive than
last Memorial Day, with an average nightly cost of $151.
* Car rentals average $59 per day – the lowest rate in the past four
years, and 11 percent cheaper than last year.
According to Hertz, a 40-year AAA partner, the busiest airport pick-up
locations for travelers renting a car this Memorial Day are expected to be
Orlando (MCO), Las Vegas (LAS), Atlanta (ATL), Los Angeles (LAX) and
Kahului, HI (OGG). The busiest day for rental pick-ups is expected to be May
25, with an average rental length of nearly six days, as travelers look to
take advantage of the long holiday weekend.
Top Memorial Day travel destinations
Orlando again tops this year’s list of the most-visited Memorial Day
destinations in the U.S., based on AAA advance travel bookings. Cruises to
Alaska, originating in Seattle and Anchorage, as well as warm-weather
destinations in Hawaii, Las Vegas, Phoenix and southern California top the
list of travelers’ domestic destinations this summer.
1. Orlando, Florida
2. Seattle, Washington
3. Honolulu, Hawaii
4. Las Vegas, Nevada
5. Anchorage, Alaska
6. Phoenix, Arizona
7. Anaheim, California
8. Boston, Massachusetts
9. Denver, Colorado
10. New York, New York
For those planning to kick off their summers with an overseas vacation,
Europe is a major draw this year. Rome, Dublin and London are the most
popular international travel destinations for Memorial Day weekend.
AAA’s projections are based on economic forecasting and research by IHS
Markit. The London-based business information provider teamed with AAA in
2009 to jointly analyze travel trends during major holidays. AAA has been
reporting on holiday travel trends for more than two decades. The complete
AAA/IHS Markit 2018 Memorial Day holiday travel forecast is available here
<https://newsroom.aaa.com/travel/> .