AAA anticipates a record number of Texans traveling this Memorial Day, the highest since they began tracking in 2000. The Lone Star State is projected to have 3.6 million travelers during this holiday period, marking a 4.2% increase from last year.
Nationwide, 43.8 million people are expected to travel for Memorial Day, a 4.1% rise from the previous year, nearing the 2005 record of 44 million travelers. The forecast covers trips of 50 miles or more from home between Thursday, May 23, and Monday, May 27, 2024.
Love Field has 4,324 arrivals and departures scheduled, offering 688,238 seats from Friday through Monday. Nearly 190,000 travelers are expected to pass through the airport from Friday to Tuesday. DFW Airport has 22,062 arrivals and departures scheduled, providing 3,207,723 seats.
“Memorial Day is the unofficial start to summer and many friends and families are planning to spend the holiday weekend at cookouts, popular landmarks and even taking international vacations,” said Galen Grillo, vice president and general manager of AAA Texas. “Bucket list trips and solo travel are top travel trends our travel advisors are seeing this year and 2024 is shaping up to be the busiest year for travel ever.”
In Texas, AAA Texas travel advisors highlight the top road trip destinations as Galveston, Corpus Christi, state parks, the San Antonio River Walk, Fredericksburg and the Texas Hill Country. The major metropolitan areas of Houston, Dallas and Austin are also popular choices.
But some of these travelers will be flying into Dallas this week to visit the American Airlines Center to watch the Dallas Stars and the Dallas Mavericks compete in their respective conference finals.
According to The Dallas Morning News, the number of flights booked by business travelers into DFW Airport has increased by 15% since the beginning of the NBA and NHL playoffs.
AAA expects gas prices in Texas to remain similar to last year's national average of around $3.57 or slightly lower. Although pump prices increased this spring, they have remained relatively steady in recent weeks. However, prices may rise as the summer driving season begins.
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