High Gas Prices Not Expected to Keep Oklahomans Home over the Memorial Day Weekend, AAA says

Despite gas prices more than one dollar above where they were a year ago in Oklahoma, auto travel will increase slightly; air travel will jump by 12%.

NEWS from AAA Oklahoma, May 19 – AAA projects 34.9 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home during the Memorial Day holiday weekend, a slight increase of 0.2 percent – or 100,000 travelers – from the 34.8 million people who traveled one year ago. The Memorial Day travel period is defined by AAA as running from Thursday, May 26 to Monday, May 30.

“In 2010, Memorial Day travel experienced a gain of more than 14 percent. This year we expect to add slightly to that gain due to an anticipated increase in air travel and an improvement in the overall domestic economic picture,” said AAA Oklahoma spokesman Chuck Mai. “Many travelers have told us they’ll compensate for higher fuel costs by cutting back in other areas of spending.”

AAA’s projections are based on economic forecasting and research by IHS Global Insight. The Boston-based economic research and consulting firm teamed with AAA in 2009 to jointly analyze travel trends during the major holidays. AAA has been reporting on holiday travel trends for more than two decades. The complete AAA / IHS Global Insight 2011 Memorial Day Holiday Travel Forecast can be found at AAA.com/news.

Overwhelming majority of Americans to travel by automobile, down slightly nationally from last year but up a bit in Oklahoma
Approximately 30.9 million people nationwide plan to drive to their destination, a small decline from the 31 million who drove last year. In Oklahoma, AAA expects 499,000 motorists will take to the highways over the holiday period, an increase of 0.2 percent over last year. In spite of gasoline prices more than a dollar per gallon higher than a year ago across Oklahoma and the U.S., auto travel continues to be the dominant mode of transportation. Almost nine out of ten holiday travelers (89 percent) will be getting there by motor vehicle during the Memorial Day holiday weekend. The national average price today for regular self-serve gasoline, according to AAA’s FuelGaugeReport.com, is $3.905 per gallon, compared to $2.852 this time last year. In Oklahoma, the statewide average for regular gasoline today is $3.769. On May 19, 2010, the average was $2.717.

Impact of gasoline prices on travel plans
A survey of intended travelers found that six out of ten said rising gasoline prices would not impact their travel plans. Of the remaining four out of ten travelers who said rising gas prices would impact their travel plans, 70 percent will economize in other areas and the rest will take a shorter trip or travel by an alternate mode of transportation.

Motorists are encouraged to use AAA’s free online gas price tools and information, found at www.AAA.com under AAA News & Safety, Fuel News & Tools. Drivers can predict overall trip fuel costs using AAA’s Fuel Cost Calculator, check current gas prices and discover easy ways to save money at the pump.

Number of air travelers expected to increase 11 to 12 percent
Nearly 2.93 million leisure air travelers (eight percent of holiday travelers) will fly during the holiday weekend, an 11.5 percent increase from last year. The auto club predicts 88,250 Oklahomans will fly this year over Memorial Day, a jump of 12.1 percent over year-ago levels. The remaining three percent of travelers are expected to reach their holiday destinations by other modes of transportation, including rail, bus and watercraft.

Airfares, hotel rates and car rental rates all rise
According to AAA’s Leisure Travel Index, Memorial Day holiday airfares are expected to be 14 percent higher than last year with an average lowest round-trip rate of $201 for the top 40 U.S. air routes. Hotel rates for AAA Three Diamond lodgings are expected to increase five percent from a year ago with travelers spending an average of $148 per night compared to $142 last year. Travelers planning to stay at AAA Two Diamond hotels can expect to pay ten percent more with an average cost of $109 per night. Weekend daily car rental rates will average $38, just $1 higher than last year.

Average travel distance up 27 percent; median spending down 14 percent
According to a survey of traveler intentions, the average distance traveled by Americans during the Memorial Day holiday weekend is expected to be 792 miles, which is 27 percent greater than last year’s average travel distance of 626 miles. Air travel is expected to gain a larger share of overall travel, and is likely the cause of a substantial increase in the average travel distance compared to a year ago. Median spending is expected to be $692, a decrease of 14 percent from $809 last year.

As North America’s largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides more than 52 million members (345,000 in Oklahoma) with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers. AAA Oklahoma can be visited on the Internet at AAA.com.