Americans to Road Trip in Near-Record Levels as Gas Prices Ease into Summer
GasBuddy just released their 2024 Summer Travel Survey results and forecast for Memorial Day weekend, revealing a near-record number of Americans planning to road trip this summer as gas prices continue to drop ahead of the holiday.
They predict the national average price of gas will hold in the mid-$3/gallon range for most of summer, with potentially tens of thousands of stations dipping below that throughout the next several months.
More Americans Plan to Hit the Road
According to GasBuddy’s survey, 76% of Americans plan to take a road trip between Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends, up 18% from 2023. The average traveler has two road trips planned, with many venturing far – 49% expect to drive 5 or more hours to reach their destination.
Setting the Stage for Major Travel Holidays
Among major travel holidays, Memorial Day is the most popular with 60% planning a road trip, followed by Independence Day at 45% and Labor Day at 34%. Over half (58%) of road trippers have already confirmed their plans by booking accommodation. GasBuddy expects July 4 to be the lowest priced holiday at the pump, with Labor Day a bit uncertain due to hurricane season.
Where are People Planning to Go?
Published today, a study looking at Instagram and the most popular hashtags revealed "Route 66" as the most popular highways. It covers a large portion of the U.S. and is the top road trip in North America with more than 2 billion posts on Instagram. It also gleaned more than 6.5 billion Google searches.
This was corroborated with several other studies looking at Google search data. Others that ranked high include Blue Ridge Parkway, Big Sur, the Badlands Parkway, Big Island Highway...
Sources across the web indicate the most popular Wyoming Road Trips include Yellowstone National Park, Chief Joseph Scenic Byway, the Snowy Range Ski Area, Wind River Canyon, Skyline Scenic Drive, Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Route, Grand Teton National Park, and the Beartooth Highway.
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