By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — AAA is expecting lots less travel for Memorial Day.
"AAA is expecting this Memorial Day weekend travel volume to set a record low since we began tracking the statistics in 2000," said Shawn Steward with AAA Kansas. "Last year, 43 million Americans traveled for Memorial Day weekend, which was the second highest travel volume on record."
COVID-19 has made it hard to know what is open and what is not to travel much distance.
"With social distancing guidelines still in place in a lot of locations and people just a little unsure about where things are, we think a lot of people will be staying home this Memorial Day weekend or staying very close to home," Steward said.
Given the unprecedented nature of the pandemic, AAA doesn't have a good estimate for how much the travel number will drop for the weekend, but people are still planning their vacations for later in the year.
"AAA travel online bookings have been rising, although modestly, since mid-April," Steward said. "Travelers are really starting to gain some confidence and start thinking about where they want to be traveling possibly this summer and fall."
Steward says trips within the region will likely come back first.