It appears that due to the Coronavirus some think Memorial Day travel might be down – but not for us. Our plan is to get back into vacation mode

We recently received a press release from the American Automobile Club (AAA). It said for the first time in 20 years, AAA would not issue a Memorial Day travel forecast. Apparently they think the data used to create the forecast has been skewed by the recent outbreak of the virus.

   They believe that fewer people will hit the road compared to years past. However, our plan is to head out for somewhere here in the Sunshine State. And we think a lot of others will too.

Memorial Day traditionally is the unofficial start of the summer travel season. And this year it also will herald the return to normalcy as Florida begins to re-open. Beaches, stores and restaurants all are coming back online.

It’s Memorial Day and time to hit the road in search of adventure.

Record Low Predicted

  “Last year, 43 million Americans traveled for Memorial Day Weekend. That is the second-highest travel volume on record since AAA began tracking holiday travel volumes in 2000,” said Paula Twidale, senior vice president, AAA Travel. “With social distancing guidelines still in practice, this holiday weekend’s travel volume is likely to set a record low.”

   Memorial Day 2009 currently holds the record for the lowest travel volume. The AAA statistics indicate that year only about 31 million travelers. That holiday weekend, which came toward the end of the Great Recession, 26.4 million Americans traveled by car and the rest by other means such as trains and planes.

Travelers’ Confidence Slowly Improving

It’s not all bad news. Officials of the AAA told us that their travel online bookings in the past few weeks have been on the rise. They are predicting vacationers will have a preference for U.S destinations, mostly local and regional locations, and the great American road trip.

Moreover, officials of the AAA told us they expect vacationers will gravitate to road trips. That’s where we live. Our road trips all over Florida just continue to get better.

In fact, we look forward to this Memorial Day as the start of a new chapter in our travel lives here in Florida. Recently we visited Vero Beach. This was still when dining in was not permitted and many of the attractions were closed.

The view from our room at the Sea Spray was one of the most picturesque we’ve had.

Now, things have started to re-open. Many of the facilities have taken their time to deep clean and remodel. It is like a new beginning on so many levels.

So officials of the AAA have predicted record lows. We, however, are looking forward to travel, meeting new people and enjoying new experiences across the Sunshine State.