Busy Travel Weekend Planned For Memorial Day Weekend In Wisconsin

Wisconsinites are forecast to travel in near record numbers for Memorial Day weekend.

According to AAA’s 2023 Memorial Day Travel Forecast, just over 800,000 Wisconsinites will travel 50 miles or more. That’s 6.7% more than last year and only 3% short of the all-time high in 2019.

An estimated 720,000 Wisconsinites will drive, which is almost 40,000 more than last year. Meanwhile, 42,000 are forecast to fly, which is 10% more passengers than last year’s holiday.

Memorial Day weekend is the kickoff to a very busy summer travel season,” said Debbie Haas, Vice President of Travel for AAA. “Despite various inflationary pressures, consumer spending is strong, and Americans still want to travel. Because of that, we’ve seen demand come roaring back, just shy of pre-pandemic levels in Wisconsin.”

Although state holiday travel figures are poised to reach record highs, national travel numbers are still slightly behind pre-pandemic levels.

Despite higher ticket prices, demand for flights is soaring. AAA predicts the strongest air travel numbers since 2005. Nearly 3.4 million travelers are expected to fly for the holiday weekend. That’s more than 33,000 more passengers than last year, and 170,000 more than in 2019.

Friday, May 26 will be the busiest day on the roads, according to INRIX, a provider of transportation data and insights. The best times to travel by car, during the holiday weekend, will be in the morning or evening after 6 p.m. The lightest traffic days will be Saturday and Sunday.