AAA Oklahoma is projecting that more than 550,000 Oklahoma residents will travel a distance of 50 miles or more over the Memorial Day Weekend. As usual, the large majority, or more than 82%, will be driving to their destinations, though air travel and travel by other modes of transportation are both up significantly compared to last year.
More than 80% of travelers – or almost 455,000 Oklahoma residents – will hit the road for the holiday, up over 5% from last year.
“Expect Memorial Day travel to be as busy as pre-pandemic levels on roads, airports, train stations and bus depots,” says Rylie Mansuetti, spokesperson for AAA Oklahoma. “Travelers should plan accordingly to ensure a smooth and stress-free trip.”
Despite air travelers paying more this year, AAA data shows a 40% increase in airfare to this year’s top destinations. Air travel is up 7% from Memorial Day weekend last year. AAA projects that more than 60,000 Oklahomans will fly. And, travel by other modes of transportation, which was slow to recover from the pandemic, is up over 30% over last year, with more than 40,000 Oklahoma residents training, busing or cruising to their holiday destinations.
2023 Projected Memorial Day Holiday Travelers – Oklahoma
| NUMBER OF TRAVELERS |
Total Population |
2023 Travelers |
Percent of population traveling |
Percent change vs. 2022 |
| Oklahoma TOTAL
Auto, Air & Other |
4,019,800* |
550,713 |
13.7% |
+6.1% |
| Oklahoma Auto |
82.4% of people travel by car |
454,237 |
11.3% |
+5.5% |
| Oklahoma Air |
10.9% of people travel by air |
60,297 |
1.5% |
+7.9% |
| Oklahoma Other
(train, bus, cruise, etc.) |
7.3% of people travel by other modes |
40,198 |
1.0% |
+30.7% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| National TOTAL |
335 million* |
42.3 million |
12.6% |
+7% |
| National Auto
|
87.6% of people travel by car |
37.1 million |
11.1% |
+6% |
| National Air
|
8.0% of people travel by air |
3.4 million |
1.0% |
+11% |
| National Other
(train, bus, cruise, etc.) |
4.4% of people travel by other modes |
1.8 million |
0.6% |
+20.6% |
*U.S. Census Bureau (v2022)/IHS Markit
AAA National Travel Projections
The increase in the number of Oklahoma residents traveling over the Memorial Day holiday mirrors national projections.
From May 26 through May 30, more than 42 million people are expected to travel 50 miles or more from home, an increase of more than seven percent over last year. And, most of those traveling – more than 37 million – will be hitting the road.
More than 3 million will be flying to their destinations, an increase of 11% over last year – and five percent higher than 2019. And, the most significant increase over last year is the number of holiday travelers going by train, bus or cruise line – 1.8 million, which is an increase of over 20% over last year.
Source: AAA release
