AAA releases Philadelphia-area Memorial Day weekend travel forecast

Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer and a busy travel weekend ahead.

AAA released its local holiday predictions Tuesday morning.

The organization expects that more than 525,000 people will travel at least 50 miles between Thursday and Monday next week across the Philadelphia region.

That is just 0.2% higher than last year.

AAA predicts more than 470,000 of them will hit the roads, up 0.1% from last year, for what could be a near-record driving weekend.

More than 38,000 of others will fly to their destinations, down 0.3% from last year.

Nearly 17,000 people are expected to travel by train, bus or cruise ship, up 3.8% over last year.

Despite higher fuel prices, travel numbers are holding steady compared to last year.