TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Travelers across Arizona are hitting the roads and skies for Memorial Day weekend as the unofficial start of summer arrives, despite gas prices that are significantly higher than a year ago.
Triple AAA projects 45 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home during the holiday weekend, including more than 39 million traveling by car, a slight increase over last year.
At a Chevron station in Tucson on Thursday, rising fuel costs were top of mind for drivers preparing for holiday trips.
“I can’t be spontaneous you know?” said Cindy Acechuco. “I love to be spontaneous and now… you just have to budget.”
According to AAA, Arizona’s average gas price Thursday was about $4.82 per gallon, compared with roughly $3.39 at the same time last year. Nationally, the average price reached $4.56 per gallon, nearly $1.40 higher than Memorial Day weekend in 2025.
Acechuco said the higher prices are forcing families to adjust spending habits and share travel costs.
“It looks like I am gonna be traveling out of town, probably head to California this weekend… but we’re splitting the gas!” she said.
She added that the extra money spent at the pump leaves less room in household budgets for other purchases.
“You can’t get other things because you just got to cut it off at some point because it’s so expensive,” Acechuco said.
While many Southern Arizonans are expected to drive, Tucson International Airport is also seeing an increase in travelers this holiday weekend.
“Well definitely this weekend we’re experiencing an increase in travel,” said Roxanne Harding, director of corporate communications for the Tucson Airport Authority.
Harding said Tucson International Airport expects about 57,000 travelers between Thursday and Monday.
“This Memorial Day weekend, from Thursday through Monday, we are expecting about 57 thousand travelers,” she said.
Airport officials said some travelers may choose to fly instead of drive for longer trips because of fuel prices, though traffic at Tucson International remains comparable to previous years.
“While it is an increase in travel this weekend, it’s still not our peak season,” Harding said.
Airport officials also expect more arriving passengers than departures over the holiday weekend.
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Eddie Celaya is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9. Born in Tucson and raised in the Phoenix area, Eddie is a life-long Arizonan and graduate of the University of Arizona who loves the desert and mountains and hates the cold. Previously, Eddie worked in print media at the Arizona Daily Star. Share your story ideas with Eddie at edward.celaya@kgun9.com, or by connecting on Facebook or Instagram.
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