The Civil War claimed more American lives than any conflict in U.S. history, requiring the first establishment of national cemeteries. It was following this great conflict in our history that Americans started a tradition of memorializing fallen soldiers, and Waterloo, New York is considered the birthplace of Memorial Day, formerly known as Decoration Day. First celebrating the holiday on May 5, 1866, the town hosted a community-wide event where businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags. Today the holiday is celebrated on the last Monday in May, and it was officially declared a federal holiday in 1971.
Unfortunately, for many this holiday has turned into nothing more than the unofficial beginning of summer and the occasion of a family’s three-day weekend at the beach. In preparation for this holiday, an annual report is generated covering topics related to travel in the major geographic areas of the United States, known as the AAA Memorial Day Travel Forecast.
North Carolina was expected to see 897,300 motorists on the road this past weekend, which was a 1.5% increase from last year’s Memorial Day road travel. Although the study makes the assumption that gas prices had a negligible impact on travel decisions, North Carolina gas prices have decreased by $0.37 since the year’s highest price on February 22nd. The average price of unleaded regular gasoline in North Carolina was $3.43 for the weekend, ranking 9th lowest in the nation. The highest gas was found in Wilmington at $3.45, and the lowest in Boone and High Point at $3.37, according to AAA Carolinas.
One of the more popular attractions was the NC Zoo, breaking attendance records over this last weekend. The previous attendance record was set in May of 2008, so this years numbers are hopefully a sign that the recession is slowly fading away. Daily attendance totals were 14,015 on Saturday, 12,277 on Sunday and 10,873 on Monday for a total of 37,165 visitors over the Memorial Day weekend.
In the AAA study, within the the Southern Atlantic region, North Carolina ranked 3rd behind Florida and Georgia for the region’s tourism output. Some of the components of this calculation are the number of people traveling, the dollars spent across specific categories, the number of persons traveling per party, and many others.
- The average round-trip was 737 miles traveled with 25% of total travelers only traveling 151-200 miles.
- The median total expenditure for a complete trip was $867; the largest component was 27% for accommodation followed by 16% each for both fuel and food and beverages.
- The majority of travelers were families, accounting for 35% of total travelers.
- The most common reason for travel was visiting with family/relatives or dining.
- The largest variance in primary activities when compared to those of 2012 was a 5% increase in shopping; hiking, biking, hunting and fishing all increased 4%.
So whether you spent yesterday’s holiday at the beach, traveling to the mountains, or staying at home and going to your community parade, also remember that Memorial Day has a deeper meaning than cookouts and the beginning of summer. Many people died fighting for our country, and Memorial Day is a day to remember them.
