Nearly 1.3 million people in Georgia are expected to travel over Memorial Day weekend, the first big holiday of the busy summer travel season.
Nationally, 43 million people expected to travel over the holiday weekend, the second-highest total on record behind the high in 2005, according to AAA.
The number of Americans traveling for Memorial Day is up by 1.5 million, or 3.6 percent, from last year.
The forecast from auto club AAA indicates that of the total expected to travel in Georgia, the vast majority will go by car, with a record of more than 1.1 million expected to travel by automobile.
The most congested periods on the road are expected to Thursday and Friday late afternoon "as commuters leave work early and mix with holiday travelers," according to AAA.
AAA also noted that Atlanta and other major metro areas should “expect to experience double the travel times compared to a normal trip.”
Nearly 105,000 in Georgia are expected to fly for Memorial Day weekend, up 5.3 percent over last year.
Top travel destinations in the U.S. for the long weekend are Orlando, New York and Las Vegas, according to AAA travel bookings.
A smaller share of about 34,000 passengers will travel by train, bus or cruise ship.
About the Author
