Memorial Day is almost here, and it’s been raining surveys and travel trends. Everyone from AAA to Gallup, Deloitte, and numerous travel and hospitality companies have polled their customer base and come up with all kinds of trends and numbers for summer and Memorial Day weekend travel.

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The one thing everyone agrees on, though, is that Americans are planning to travel despite high gas prices. What’s more, this could be a pivotal year as travelers become “inured to high gas prices.”

AAA: According to AAA, 34.9 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more for the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

That’s a slender 0.2 percent (100,000 travelers) improvement over the 34.8 million travelers for 2010, which itself was a major 14 percent improvement over 2009.

About 30.9 million people plan to drive to their destination this year, as compared to 31 million last year. The number of air travelers is expected to increase 11.5 percent. The average price for regular gasoline is $3.91, compared to $2.85 this time last year.

TripAdvisor: Thirty-three percent of those surveyed said they’re planning to travel for the Memorial Day weekend, up from 29 percent last year. Among those planning to travel, 66 percent will be driving and 35 percent will be flying, as opposed to  70 and 29, respectively, last year.

This basically mirrors the AAA trend, which says that slightly more people will travel this year, but there’s a noticeable shift from driving to flying.

Gallup: Seventy-one percent of Americans traveling this summer predict they will spend more on transportation, as compared with 39 percent who said they would spend more on transportation last May. But it’s not stopping anyone, and Gallup rounds up the survey with the implication that Americans are becoming inured to high gas prices.

Deloitte: Twenty-two percent of respondents plan on taking a Memorial Day weekend leisure trip, compared with 19 percent last year.

What’s the most popular destination for Memorial Day 2011? Priceline says it’s Chicago’s North Michigan Avenue, while Orbitz says it is Las Vegas. For HomeAway.com users, it is Provincetown, Massachusetts.

A Springhill Suites survey finds out how travelers are planning to deal with vacation stress: Women worry more about money; men get haircuts. Midwesterners are more likely to yell at their kids. Northeasterners are more apt to ignore them. And Southerners turn most often to deep breathing.

A Wyndham survey asked respondents what they’d be willing to do for an all-expenses paid vacation. Thirty-nine percent said they’d be willing to watch C-SPAN for eight straight hours, 27 percent would shave their heads, and 31 percent would give up air conditioning all summer.

Photo – Sam Howzit

Related posts:
Summer Vacations and Family Travel on the Rise
How Will Rising Gas Prices Affect Travel Trends?