Road trip: Cheap gas fuels summer rush

700K more projected to travel this year

More Americans appear poised to kiss the “staycation” goodbye this summer.

With the coming of the Memorial Day holiday, more vacationers are likely to head out of town to take advantage of cheap gas, falling airfares and strong employment.

“The ‘staycation’ is out, the road trip is in — and for good reason,” says analyst Patrick DeHaan of GasBuddy.com, the gasoline-price tracking website.

AAA is projecting 35 million people will travel this Memorial Day weekend — about 700,000 more than last year. With gasoline prices at their lowest level for this time of year since 2005, cheap gas is fueling the rush.

Americans have already saved over $18 billion on gas this year, compared with the same period in 2015, AAA spokeswoman Julie Hall said. GasBuddy is projecting a 2.2% increase in road-trippers this summer; national prices will average $2.29 per gallon on Memorial Day and $2.15 per gallon from June through August.

Cheaper fuel also is contributing to lower airfares. Travel booking site Orbitz says the average plane ticket to its top 10 destinations costs 10% less this summer than it did last year.

Of the 75% of Americans that Orbitz expects to travel this summer, eight out of 10 will stay stateside.

Although the journey itself might cost a little less, vacationers may have to pay more once they arrive. Average hotel prices in Orbitz’s top 10 destinations are up 17% for the summer. A few vacation spots have spiked considerably. Miami hotel prices leaped 23% to an average of $189 per night. Chicago rose 21% to $234.