AAA Chicago Expects Memorial Day Travel to Equal 2002 Levels

AURORA, Ill., May 21, 2003 -- Despite continued economic sluggishness and lingering effects of the war with Iraq, AAA projects that Memorial Day travel will equal last year's numbers.

AAA's annual Memorial Day holiday survey projects that 35 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home, which is up 0.1 percent from last year.

Approximately 29.4 million travelers are expected to travel by car, a 0.3 percent increase from the 29.3 million who drove last year. Another 3.9 million people plan to travel by airplane, which is down 2.5 percent from the 4.1 million from last Memorial Day holiday.

A projected 1.7 million vacationers will travel by train, bus or other modes of transportation, which is unchanged from last year.

"Given the current state of the economy and all of the other global factors effecting the travel industry, AAA is extremely optimistic that travel for this Memorial Day Holiday is expected to equal 2002," said Steve Nolan, spokesperson for AAA Chicago. "The fact that gas prices also have dropped significantly in the last two months should be welcome news to the many motorists who will be traveling this weekend."

The greatest number of Memorial Day travelers will originate in the West with 7.1 million, followed by the Southeast with 6.5 million. Auto travelers from the Midwest are expected to be around 6.1 million, followed by the Northeast with 5.4 million and finally the Great Lakes with 4.4 million.

The Travel Industry Association of America, which conducts special research for AAA, bases Memorial Day travel projections on a national telephone survey of 1300 adults.

AAA Chicago offers automotive, travel, insurance and financial services. It is part of The Auto Club Group (ACG), the largest affiliation of AAA clubs in the Midwest, with 4.1 million members in eight states. ACG clubs belong to the national AAA federation, a not-for-profit organization, with more than 45 million members in the United States and Canada.