AAA: Memorial Day travel in Virginia should be slightly higher this year than last

A fair number of Virginians are expected to hit the roads this Memorial Day weekend, but that is still expected to be the lowest year-over-year rise in travel traffic in a decade, according to the latest predictions from AAA Mid-Atlantic.

Almost 1.23 million Virginians will head to destinations more than 50 miles away, the motor-club federation said May 18. That is 2.5%, or about 30,000 more people, compared to last year’s holiday, but the jump from a percentage standpoint is the smallest since 2016.

For example, travel jumped 7.7% from 2021 to 2022, 5.8% from 2022 to 2023 and 3.6% from 2023 to 2024, according to the data.

Concerns over the economy are likely factors in the drop, but they are not strong enough to keep people from going.

“Economic uncertainties are top of mind for travelers right now,” Morgan Dean, the manager of public and government affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic in Virginia, said in a statement. “Despite those concerns, Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start to summer and for many Virginians that means a long weekend away from work and school at the coast, the bay, the lake, the mountains or at of Virginia’s many tourist attractions.”

The 1.23 million projection is the highest since 2016, when AAA expected 1.24 million to take advantage of the long weekend.

Most travelers – 1.08 million – will be driving to their destinations, AAA predicted. Around 108,000 will fly, and 38,000 will get there by bus, cruise or train.

Nationwide, AAA expects 45.1 million travelers over Memorial Day, 87% over the road.

Transportation analysis firm INRIX expects the afternoon hours to be the busiest on the highways, with northern Virginia and southern Maryland to be among the most congested areas on the East Coast.

Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at [email protected] or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: AAA: Memorial Day travel in Virginia should be slightly higher this year than last

Reporting by Bill Atkinson, Petersburg Progress-Index / The Progress-Index

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