Arizonans will travel for Memorial Day despite high gas prices
May 20, 2019, 4:12 AM
(Pexels)
PHOENIX — Arizona is in the midst of its highest gas prices since 2014, but that isn’t going to stop its residents from traveling for the Memorial Day holiday.
More than 877,000 Arizonans are expected to travel during the three-day weekend, an increase of over 4% from 2018.
On Friday, Arizona’s statewide average of $3.15 a gallon topped the national average by about 30 cents.
“Expensive gas prices won’t keep Arizonans home this Memorial Day weekend,” Michelle Donati, a spokeswoman for AAA Arizona, said in a press release.
If more Arizonans do indeed travel during the holiday, it will continue the trend both statewide and nationwide.
There has been an increase in Memorial Day travelers four years in a row in Arizona and throughout the United States, according to AAA.
Of the Arizonans expected to travel during the holiday, more than 769,000 are expected to drive to their destination, a 4.5% increase from 2018.
Two of AAA’s top five Memorial Day travel destinations — Las Vegas and Anaheim, California — are within driving distance of Arizona.
“Given the strong economy, consumers continue to spend their disposable income on travel and near-record numbers are looking forward to doing just that over the upcoming holiday weekend,” Donati said.