Arrivalist’s measure of road trip activity across the United
States shows a sharp uptick over the first two days of the Memorial Day weekend.
The analysis is based on anonymized GPS data from
smartphones and other sensors and measures daily volume of trips of at least 50
miles that last at least two hours. The data excludes commuter, freight, delivery
and other types of frequently repeated trips.
On May 22 and 23, the volume of such trips was up 48.5%
compared to the previous Friday and Saturday. That makes it the most dramatic
increase in weekend-over-weekend road trips this year and brings the trip
activity closer to pre-COVID holiday travel levels – 68.2% of the activity on
Martin Luther King Day in January and 56.1% of Labor Day 2019.
Subscribe to our newsletter below
“We’re seeing a volume of road trip activity we haven’t seen
since early before the COVID-19 Pandemic,” says Cree Lawson, Arrivalist founder
and CEO.
“Travel patterns varied widely from place to place but the
level of activity is reminiscent of previous spring break levels.”
Along with higher volume, Arrivalist found trip distance
increased. Whereas most trips measured since mid-March were in the 50- to 100-mile range, the company says this past weekend trips of 250 miles or more “reached
a level not seen since the spring break season in late February and early
March.”
Road trip activity varied widely across the U.S., with highs
of 83% in Oregon and nearly 80% in Missouri and Kansas to less than 10% in Delaware
and New Jersey.
Trip activity was up to parks such as Lake of the Ozarks (up
18.2% year-over-year), Mount Rushmore, Lake Tahoe and Half Moon Bay. For beach destinations,
South Padre Island in Texas, Myrtle Beach in South Carolina, Daytona Beach in Florida and the Jersey
Shore saw a sharp increase.