U.S. holiday road trips may hit a record in post-pandemic boom

About 38.4 million people will take to the roads this Memorial Day weekend in the U.S., the most in more than two decades of data tracking the holiday's travel numbers, according to the American Automobile Association.

About 43.8 million people will embark on trips of all forms during the weekend leading into the May 27 holiday, with plane travel, cruises and public transport also proving popular, the group said. That's the second-highest number AAA has seen since 2005, when consumer sentiment had recovered from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and had yet to be roiled by the 2008 financial crisis.

Notably, the number of expected travelers this year surpasses 2019 levels, showing that the travel industry has recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic and is thriving again.

That recovery is right on schedule, as travel numbers typically take about four years to rebound from collapses, said AAA spokeswoman Aixa Diaz.

Retail gasoline prices will be similar to this time a year earlier, AAA said, even as demand leading into the summer hovers at the lowest levels since 2020. Still, prices at the pump may creep up as the summer driving season kicks into full force, AAA said.

A rebound in US travel would be a positive signal for global demand at a time when concerns about the strength of Chinese consumption are lingering. Crude prices are still up for the year amid production cuts from OPEC and its allies, and markets are looking ahead to the alliance's meeting on June 1, where it's expected to continue the supply curbs into the second half of the year.