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More Delawareans projected to travel for Memorial Day weekend than last year

Delaware Public Media

Delawareans are expected to travel more this summer than last — starting with this Memorial Day weekend.

Nearly one in five Delawareans are planning a “longer or more extravagant” trip this summer, according to polling from AAA.  

The automobile association expects more than 10% of Delawareans to travel this Memorial Day weekend, an increase of more than 60% from last year, but still below 2019 levels.

Ken Grant manages public and government affairs for AAA in Delaware, and says Delaware’s stats are consistent with surrounding states. This year’s expectations are what AAA calls “revenge travel.”

“People feel like they've been cooped up for a year,” Grant said. “They’ve missed out on vacations or time with family and friends last year due to COVID restrictions. So this year they're just going for everything. What would have been, for example, a three-day Memorial Day weekend, many people are extending out and staying for a week or more.”

Grant advises travellers to “pack their patience” this weekend, and prepare for what could be more traffic or crowds than usual. 

Meanwhile, AAA polling also reveals Delawareans are still cautious about COVID.

“That’s certainly justifiable,” Grant said. “Something that we advise travellers to keep in mind when travelling to other states, and certainly when travelling to other countries, is do your research, and see what kind of restrictions they have in place or what kinds of requirements they may require. ”

Nearly a third of survey respondents said they still have COVID-related travel concerns, and close to one in five said their ability to be fully vaccinated is the driving force behind travel plans. 

As of Friday morning, 39% of all Delawareans were fully vaccinated.

 

Sophia Schmidt is a Delaware native. She comes to Delaware Public Media from NPR’s Weekend Edition in Washington, DC, where she produced arts, politics, science and culture interviews. She previously wrote about education and environment for The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, MA. She graduated from Williams College, where she studied environmental policy and biology, and covered environmental events and local renewable energy for the college paper.
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