AAA Kansas estimates that nearly 385,000 residents will be traveling for this Memorial Day weekend. This is up 8% from 2022.

Driving vacations will make up 88.5% of the travel, with nearly 341,000 people taking to the highways, up 5.4% from last year. More than 32,000 Kansans will fly to their destinations, an increase of 8.3% from 2022. Other modes of travel, including cruise ship, train or bus, will be chosen by nearly 12,000 Kansas travelers, up 10.7%.

Additionally, AAA projects 42.3 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home during the holiday, a 7% increase from last year. Overall, that’s 2.7 million more people nationwide travelling for the unofficial start of summer in 2023.

Nearly 3.4 million travelers nationwide are expected to fly to their destinations (an 11% increase over 2022). Air travel over the holiday weekend is projected to exceed pre-pandemic levels, with 170,000 more passengers (or 5.4% more) than in 2019. AAA predicts this Memorial Day weekend could be the busiest at airports since 2005.

Also up this year are road trips, which are seeing a 6% increase over 2022. An estimated 37.1 million Americans will drive to their destinations, an increase of more than 2 million. Gas prices are lower this holiday compared to last year, when the national average was more than $4 a gallon. Despite the lower prices at the pump, car travel this holiday will be shy of pre-pandemic numbers by about 500,000 travelers.

More people this holiday are taking other modes of transportation, like buses and trains. These travelers are expected to total 1.85 million, an increase of 20.6% over 2022.

Lastly, AAA says travelers are paying more for Memorial Day trips this year, largely due to the rising cost of airline tickets. AAA booking data shows a 40% increase in airfare to this year’s top destinations. International travel is surging with bookings 250% higher this holiday weekend compared to 2022.