Gas Prices Not Stopping Travelers
Published May 25th, 2012
By: Yaremi Farinas
It's that time again. One of the biggest travel days of the year.
The American Automobile Assoiation projects 34.8 million Americans will be traveling this Memorial Day weekend.
Out the 34.8 million Americans leaving town, about 31 million will be driving.
We spoke to some local travelers who are excited about escaping from home for a couple days.
"Well because it's a good weekend to travel on, got the extra day and we are going to have a good time," said Chris Roach.
Roach is from Gainesville and is headed on up to Georgia for the long holiday day weekend.
"Fun, relaxing and no kids," said Roach.
The father of five is getting a little break and taking a short trip with his girlfriend.
Other travelers have different reasons they are filling up their tank and hitting the roads.
"I am going up to Jacksonville to visit my boyfriend because it's his birthday today and everyone is leaving town, So I thought I would just go because my friend's are all leaving," said Helen Gibney a junior at the University of Florida.
An estimated 1.8 million Floridians are believed to be traveling either by car, plane or some sort of other transportation.
Sue Boate from triple a in Gainesville told us the number of travelers nationwide will be slightly higher this year.
"The number is up 1.2 percent over last year, who are planning to travel this year, but they're planning to reduce their distance by about 100 miles," said Boate.
She said the most common place Floridians visit during this holiday weekend is the beach.
Even though gas prices have fallen in recent weeks, she tells us people are still looking for ways to make their vacation a little bit cheaper.
"A lot of people are staying with friends and relatives to save on their money because gas is down, but it is still not cheap," said Boate.
The average gas price in Gainesville dropped 30 cents from last month and 24 cents from last Memorial Day.
"It feels good to be a little cheaper," said Roach.
