Memorial Day Travelers Are Mainly Road-Tripping, Despite High Gas Prices

According to a new national survey conducted by digital automotive marketplace Cars.com, over half (60 percent) of Americans are planning to get away this Memorial Day weekend—a 66-percent jump from last year’s numbers.

And, it seems, most travelers continue to prefer driving to their holiday destinations versus flying or going by rail, even amid rising fuel prices and despite the fact that roughly half of the U.S. population has been immunized against COVID-19, with vaccination rates continuing to increase.

Cars.com’s survey found that 89 percent of Americans who are traveling this holiday weekend will go via private automobile—an 85 percent increase over Memorial Day weekend 2020. Only 12 percent of survey participants said they would fly this year and more than one-third said that the country’s current shortage of rental cars impacted their decision to drive their own vehicle, as opposed to flying.

In addition, 43 percent of car shoppers are actually out to purchase a new or used vehicle this weekend, in hopes of finding Memorial Day deals. However, over half (51 percent) of survey respondents also said they’re willing to pay more this holiday weekend to find the car they want.

“It’s clear that car ownership will prove to be a durable post-pandemic travel trend,” said Jenni Newman, editor-in-chief at Cars.com. “Memorial Day marks the first major travel holiday since vaccination efforts began across the country, and Americans are excited to finally see family and friends in person. But, even after widespread vaccination availability, we continue to see people prioritize travel by car because they don’t quite trust other forms of transportation yet.”

The study results indicated that over 40 percent of Memorial Day travelers are already fully vaccinated, with 12 percent currently awaiting their second dose and 15 percent planning to get inoculated before their trip. Another 21 percent said they plan on traveling altogether unvaccinated.

Among those who’ll be hitting the road this weekend, 57 percent said they plan to get as far away from home as possible, in contrast to the trend among last year’s Memorial Day travelers of taking shorter trips closer to home. Forty percent of respondents said their travels will take them to see family members; 28 percent plan on hitting the beach for the unofficial start of summer, and 24 percent will be visiting friends.