Approximately 977,000 New Jersey residents will travel 50 miles or more for the Memorial Day holiday weekend in 2017, an increase of 2.5 percent, compared to the 953,230 who traveled in 2016. The Memorial Day holiday travel period is defined as Thursday, May 25 to Monday, May 29.
The majority of New Jerseyans, 880,956, plan to travel by automobile, up 2.4 percent from the 860,362 who drove to their holiday destination last year and the highest volume of automobile travelers since 2005. AAA is projecting that 90 percent of holiday travelers will take to New Jersey’s roadways during the Memorial Day holiday weekend, so motorists will need to pack their patience as they set out for the Jersey Shore.
“AAA is expecting more Memorial Day travelers this year than any time in the past 12 years, as confident consumers come out of hibernation, ready to explore the Jersey shore and more,” said Tracy E. Noble, spokesperson for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “The great American road trip is officially back and many New Jerseyans are ready to kick off summer with a Memorial Day getaway.”
Nationally, AAA projects the number of Americans traveling for the Memorial Day 2017 holiday to increase 2.7 percent compared to 2016. Approximately 39.3 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more from home. Last year, 38.3 million Americans traveled during the same period. The 2017 Memorial Day forecast is expected to mark the highest travel volume for the holiday in more than 10 years.
Impact of gasoline prices on travel plans
While AAA expects most U.S. drivers will pay the highest Memorial Day gas prices since 2015, the vast majority of holiday travelers (90 percent New Jersey/88.1 percent nationally) are still planning to hit the road. Nationally, automobile travel will grow by 2.4 percent this Memorial Day, with 34.6 million Americans planning a holiday road trip. Today’s New Jersey average gas price is $2.38 per gallon, which is about 25 cents more than one year ago but will not deter New Jersey motorist from hitting the road.
Travel Breakdown:
Automobile
- New Jersey—880,956 (90% of all travelers), up 2.4% compared to the 860,362 who drove in 2016.
- Nationally—34.6 million (88% of all travelers), a 2.4% increase from the 33.8 million who drove last year.
Air
- New Jersey—65,350 (6.6% of all travelers), up 4.6% from 62,451 last year.
- Nationally—2.9 million (7.3% of all travelers), an increase of 5.5% from Memorial Day Weekend 2016.
Train, Bus, Watercraft or Multi-Modal Travel
- New Jersey—30,677 (3.1% of all travelers), up 0.9% from 2016.
- Nationally—About 1.75 million (4.5% of all travelers), an increase of 2.9% from the 2016 holiday weekend.