Championship organizers hope there are some 40,000 to 50,000 golf fans slated to be among the more than 38-million Americans projected to hit the road over the upcoming Memorial Day holiday weekend. The Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid falls smack dab in the middle of the holiday travel period and the folks at AAA say this year is expected to rack up the second highest Memorial Day travel volume on record. That would certainly bode well for the Championship and all tourist related attractions in Michigan's Great Southwest.
If those crowds develop, it would produce the highest volume since 2005. AAA says that the lowest gas prices in more than a decade should lead to an extra 700,000 people traveling this year when compared to last. The Memorial Day holiday travel period is defined as Thursday, May 26th through Monday, May 30th. The Championship being played at Harbor Shores will play its first round on that Thursday, and is scheduled to end on Sunday, the 29th.
In Michigan, AAA says some 1.2-million people are expected to travel 50 miles or more from home during the holiday, and that would represent an almost 2-percent increase from the more than 1.1-million who did so a year ago. Far and away the majority of those Michigan travelers will do so by automobile, with about 60,000 expected to get around by plain, train, bus or boat.
Joe Richardson is President & CEO of the Auto Club Group of AAA. He says, "Millions of Americans are eager to kick-off the unofficial start of the summer travel season by taking a Memorial Day getaway." He adds, "We are forecasting an increase in holiday travelers for the second consecutive year, and the most in 11 years, largely due to low gas prices, a growing labor market and rising personal incomes. If these factors continue, the travel industry should enjoy a booming summer season."
AAA estimates that collectively we have saved $18-billion on gasoline so far this year compared to the same period a year ago, and prices are at the lowest levels for this holiday in 11 years. AAA's projections are based on economic forecasting and research by IHS Global Insight.
