Nationwide travel increases over holiday weekend despite higher prices
TAMPA, Fla. - Memorial Day 2022 could end up being the most expensive one ever for many travelers, according to industry experts. AAA expected nationwide travel during the holiday weekend to increase more than eight percent over 2021 to 39.2 million.
This comes as gas prices continued to set new records, averaging about $4.60 a gallon in Florida.
"If more people are hitting the road, and you have this sort of increased demand at gas station, you could see these prices stay high throughout all of summer and into the fall," said Andrew Gross, an AAA spokesperson.
Despite rising fuel costs and inflation being at a 40-year-high, AAA still expected a travel resurgence, with volumes expected to nearly reach 2019 pre-pandemic levels.
RELATED: Hundreds of flights across country canceled on Memorial Day, making impact at TPA
Meanwhile, the number of air travelers continued to skyrocket, up 25% compared to last year, marking the highest share of Memorial Day travelers since 2011.
A rash of mostly weather-related delays and cancellations nationwide, however, caused headaches for a lot of people. By late afternoon, there had been more than 1,500 cancellations into, within or out of the US.
Tampa International Airport had only reported about 50 delays and cancellations by that same time.