Travelers epected to hit the road for the holiday despite gas prices

Gasoline prices are at a record high but that won’t stop tens of thousands of Iowans from hitting the road for the first big travel weekend of the summer season. Triple-A-Iowa spokeswoman Dawn Duffy says the forecast calls for an increase in Memorial Day weekend travelers. Duffy says an estimated 36-point-nine-million Americans are expected to enjoy a Memorial Day weekend vacation of 50 miles or more away from home, despite gas prices being up 50-cents a gallon from a year ago. She explains what means of transportation most travelers will be using. About 84-percent will be using motor vehicles, so the roads will be crowded. Another 11-percent of this weekend’s travelers will be flying. The rest are using other modes of transportation like trains and buses. A gallon of gasoline is now averaging a dollar-98 in Iowa, a record high, which Duffy says will -not- deter travelers.The national average is two-dollars-and-three-cents a gallon, about 50-cents a gallon higher than a year ago. Still, she’s predicting an increase of nearly four-percent in the number of people traveling this Memorial Day, versus a year ago. One thing that’ll help — she says lodging and dining costs are down about four-percent from last year.