AAA Mid-Atlantic is not issuing its annual Memorial Day travel forecast. The COVID-19 crisis is the reason why.
Memorial Day is considered the unofficial start of the summer travel season and usually AAA offers a look at how busy the roads and airports will be.
But AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesman Ken Grant says for the first time in two decades they will pass on that projection.
“2020 with COVID-19 has really changed all of our lifestyles," said Grant. "And now with CDC recommendations and various states having essentially various stay-at-home orders, we just did not think that it was wise or even prudent to take a stab at numbers.”
But Grant notes it is likely fewer people will hit the road this weekend compared to years past and they may take shorter trips as well.
“As a matter of fact, we’re also expecting that to be maintained throughout the summer; shorter trips and also more domestic travel,” Grant said.
Grant adds that Memorial Day 2009, during the Great Recession, currently holds the record for lowest travel volume with an estimated 31-million travelers.
He says AAA expects even fewer travelers than that this holiday weekend.
Delaware’s beaches will be open for the holiday, but Grant says AAA Mid-Atlantic is not ready to project that drivers will flock to the beaches.
“We are seeing an uptick - a slight uptick - in the number of people who are contacting AAA about future travel plans," said Grant. "So there certainly is that sense of cabin fever of wonderlust of people who are ready to get out and explore more. But we’re finding that many of those explorations are highly localized.”
He notes that last year 43-million Americans traveled for Memorial Day Weekend. That was the second highest travel volume on record since AAA began tracking holiday travel volumes in 2000.
