Travelers Ready to Kickoff Summer

By Todd Pittenger May 22, 2025

A record breaking number of travelers are anticipated this Memorial Day Weekend, the official kickoff to the summer travel season, across the country and across Kansas. AAA Kansas is forecasting 45 million Americans to hit the road, including over half a million in Kansas.

Here’s a quick look at some of the numbers, trends and tips from AAA:
  • 505,003 – Number of Kansans who will travel 50 miles or more from home for the Memorial Day holiday travel period (May 22-26), an increase of 3.2% from 2024.
    • 85.9% – Percentage of Kansas travelers who will drive to their Memorial Day holiday destination. The 433,708 road trippers is a 2.6% increase from last year.
  • 45.1 million – Number of travelers nationwide AAA projects will travel for the Memorial Day holiday, a 3.1% increase compared to 2024 and 5.4% increase over 2019.
    • 39.4 million – Number of travelers nationwide who will drive to their Memorial Day destinations. This represents an additional 1.2 million road travelers during the holiday, compared to 2024.
  • 10th – Ranking of Kansas in the lowest average gas prices in the nation. (As of 5/19/25. Source: https://gasprices.aaa.com/)
    • $2.86 – Kansas average cost per gallon of regular unleaded gasoline, as of 5/19/25, about 30 cents less than the average one year ago.
    • $3.17 – Current National average gas price
  • 8% – Increase in price of domestic hotels this Memorial Day compared to last year.
  • 1.8% – Percent increase in the number of people who will travel by air nationwide this Memorial Day holiday. Kansas air travel will be up 0.8%.
  • $850 – Average price for a domestic roundtrip flight for Memorial Day holiday travel, based on AAA Travel bookings. This is 2% higher than last year.
  • 2.08 million – Number of people nationwide expected to travel by other modes of transportation, including buses, cruises, and trains. This an increase of 8.5% compared to last year.
  • $2,065 – Average cost of cruises departing from U.S. cities this Memorial Day weekend, 2% more expensive compared to the same holiday last year.
  • 1,600 – Number of AAA emergency roadside service calls in Kansas during Memorial Day weekend 2024
      Top 3 reasons motorists call for AAA emergency roadside assistance:
  1. Vehicle breakdown/overheating requiring a tow,
  2. Dead battery
  3. Tire problems
       Be sure to have your vehicle inspected and serviced to make sure it’s road-ready for your holiday trip.
Top Domestic Destinations for the Memorial Day holiday, based on AAA Travel bookings:
  • Orlando, FL
  • Seattle, WA
  • New York, NY
  • Las Vegas, NV
  • Miami, FL
  • San Francisco, CA
  • Anchorage, AK
  • Chicago, IL
  • Denver, CO
  • Boston, MA
Top International Destinations:
  • Rome, Italy
  • Vancouver, BC Canada
  • Paris, France
  • London, England
  • Athens, Greece
  • Dublin, Ireland
  • Barcelona, Spain
  • Southampton, England
  • Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • Edinburgh, Scotland
Other helpful tools:
  • KanDrive.gov – Kansas Department of Transportation website for details on road construction, detours and road conditions.
  • AAA Mobile App – Available for free on Google Play and the Apple App store, this app allows motorists to find the cheapest gas price near their location, request AAA emergency roadside assistance, tap in to discounts and rewards, book travel and more.