Despite high gas prices and a storm alert, nothing stopped Americans travelling on Memorial Day

Another year, another profitable Memorial Day weekend for the travel space.

A record-breaking almost 1 million travelers were expected to pass through LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) this past Monday, accounting for a 6% increase in travelers on the previous year according to LAX officials. This shows just how busy this 3-day holiday break was.

These travelers also spent their hard-earned cash on activities such as theme parks and museums, making this holiday weekend a big contributor to the tourism industry even at a global level.

The United States has seen the highest spike in gas prices since 2014 and yet travelers were flooding the highways to kick-off the start of the summer with a Memorial Day getaway! A growing consumer confidence and a strong economy are big drivers for Americans to continue to vacation despite high gas prices.

Did we mention that the storm Alberto was heading its way to Florida too? A subtropical storm that made its landfall by Monday afternoon in Florida and later affected the Alabama and Mississippi states, somehow Alberto did not significantly affect the eagerness of travelers to celebrate.  

Regardless of these events, nearly 42 million Americans were expected to travel during this year’s Memorial Day weekend, the American Automobile Association (AAA) predicted. Our home city of Orlando continues to be one of the most visited destinations for Memorial Day in the U.S. Other high-demand destinations at a domestic level included Seattle, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Anchorage, and Phoenix, respectively, said the AAA.

At Hotelbeds Group, it is not surprising that Orlando is our most booked destination for the second consecutive year in a row, with over 70 million people visiting the city on a yearly basis. The United States travel sector is big and getting bigger, recently we identified the market as our second largest source market worldwide for hotel bookings.

Memorial Day is the cornerstone of the summer season in the United States, for many officially kicking-off the period and thus preparing them for their summer break. In that respect, it works as a key indicator of economic health for the rest of the period. On that basis, this year the travel & tourism sector can look forward to a long and profitable summer.