Memorial Day Driving to Increase, AAA Says

Reversing the recent trend of declining holiday travel, 1.5% more Americans will travel more than 50 miles from home during Memorial Day weekend than did last year, the motorist group AAA estimated.

In its yearly survey of travel estimates for the weekend that starts summer travel, the group estimated that 32.4 million Americans will travel long distances during the three-day weekend, a 1.5% increase over 2008. The figure represents 10.6% of all Americans.

Driving is the most popular choice for holiday travelers, with about 83% choosing to drive, a 2.5% increase over last year.

The increase comes despite the cost of gasoline, which rose 6.9 cents this week after a 16.2-cent leap the week before, the Department of Energy reported.