Travel

— Although the summer travel season recently ended, Nebraskans are already beginning to lock in their travel plans for the holidays.

Residents of Nebraska and Iowa will travel in record numbers for Independence Day. AAA forecasts more than 3.7 million travelers from the West North Central Region (WNC) [IA,KS,MN,MO,ND,SD] will take at least one trip of 50 miles or more, between Friday, June 30 and Tuesday, July 4. That’s 140,000 more holiday travelers than the previous record high, set in 2019 and 2022.

As AAA prepares to rescue more than 483,000 drivers nationwide with car trouble this Memorial Day weekend, it will also provide a free service in effort to keep impaired drivers off the road. The Auto Club Group is activating its Tow to Go program in Nebraska, Iowa and other select states

Nebraskans and others from surrounding states are forecast to travel in near record numbers for Memorial Day weekend. According to AAA’s 2023 Memorial Day Travel Forecast, nearly 3.5 travelers from the West North Central Region ((WNC): IA, KS, MN, MO, ND, NE, SD) will journey 50 miles or more. That’s 264,000 more than last year but 79,000 less than before the pandemic, in 2019.

If you haven’t booked your summer travel plans yet, AAA says you better do it soon. The Auto Club Group is seeing very strong bookings for cruises, tours, hotels and flights.

International trips are on the rise this year. According to AAA booking data, international travel is up more than 200% compared to 2022. Hotel bookings are seeing the biggest jump, up more than 300% over last year. The spike in demand is driving up airfares. Ticket prices for international trips are up more than 30%.

Travel bookings for 2023 are off to a very strong start and that is reflected in a new survey from AAA. According to the Auto Club Group, 83% of Nebraskans plan to travel this year. That’s significantly higher than the 62% in 2022.

AAA Travel says cruising is making a strong comeback after the pandemic temporarily put a hold on sailings.

 As geopolitical tensions dominate international headlines, AAA is providing guidance for Americans interested in traveling overseas.

More than 109 million people — an almost 34 percent increase from 2020 — will travel 50 miles or more as they hit the road, board airplanes or take other transportation out of town between Dec. 23 and Jan. 2.