If you're traveling for Memorial Day, you'll have a lot of company on the roads and in the air. AAA is estimating more than 1.34 million Ohioans plan to travel this weekend, a 0.6 percent increase from last year. The figure is 36.1 million across the country, a 1.5 percent increase and the highest number since the recession. Cheryl Parker with AAA in Cincinnati chalks it up to cabin fever.
"We're finding that with the harsh winter, people are ready to get out of town," said Parker. "They were tired of the cold and snow, and now they want to take a trip just to get away and enjoy the summer."
Air travel up as well
Parker says 73,000 Ohioans are expected to travel by air, up 3.8 percent from last Memorial Day. They'll be among the 2.6 million people nationwide the Transportation Security Administration expects to fly this weekend. The agency reminds travelers to prepare and plan ahead for the security screening process by visiting tsa.gov.
And the top five destinations are:
- Disney World in Florida
- Hilton Head
- Charleston, South Carolina
- Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge
- National parks
Prices at the pump
AAA is expecting holiday gas prices to be realtively similar or even slightly less than last year's national Memorial Day average of $3.63 per gallon.