Majority of North Carolinians plan to travel this summer within the state

The latest High Point University Poll finds about two-thirds of North Carolina residents (67%) said they will travel within North Carolina this summer. A little under half (47%) said they will travel within the U.S. but outside of North Carolina this summer, and 16% planned to travel internationally.

Summer Travel and Gas Prices

North Carolinian poll respondents are split on whether they are more likely to travel this summer compared to last year. About one-third (30%) said they are more likely to travel, 31% are less likely to travel and 32% said their summer travel will be the same this year as it was last year.

Of those polled, three-quarters said inflation (77%) or gas prices (75%) will affect their likelihood of traveling this summer either a lot or some. Less than one-quarter said inflation (17%) or gas prices (19%) will not affect their travel this summer much at all.

“That as many people are considering travel as are not could indicate growing confidence that inflation will be stabilized,” said Brandon Dragone, an instructor of economics at HPU. “If prices become more stable, we could also begin to see some drops in inflation, which has been hurting both consumption and business borrowing.”

Memorial Day

The HPU Poll also finds that nearly two-thirds of North Carolinians (61%) plan to just stay around the house on Memorial Day. More than one-third of respondents said they will be attending a picnic or barbecue (37%), and one-quarter said they will be working (25%). Fewer North Carolina residents said they will be going to a veteran’s cemetery or grave (24%), heading to a Memorial Day commemorative event (22%) or taking advantage of Memorial Day sales (22%). Other activities less than a quarter of people in North Carolina will be doing on the holiday include going to a Memorial Day parade (21%), going somewhere else as a vacation day (20%) and heading to the beach (18%).

This poll also asked if people in North Carolina and the U.S. do enough on Memorial Day to honor people who have died in service to the country. Just less than half said they do enough in North Carolina (45%) and in the U.S. (41%). About one-third said people do not do enough to honor those who have died in service of the country in North Carolina (33%) and in the U.S. (42%).

The poll also asked how well the North Carolina state government has done in providing services for veterans. Most respondents said the government in North Carolina does very well or somewhat well at promoting holiday remembrances such as Memorial Day (57%), honoring their service (55%), mentioning veterans’ service in speeches (53%), building monuments and memorials to their service (52%) and documenting their service by developing archives and museums (51%). Less than half of these same respondents say that the government in North Carolina does very well or somewhat well in providing health care specifically for veterans (44%) and hiring veterans for government jobs (43%).

North Carolina residents – Summer Travel (May 2024)

Thinking about last year, would you say you are more or less likely to travel this summer?

More likely – 30%

Less likely – 31%

About the same – 32%

Unsure – 7%

How much do higher prices due to inflation affect your likelihood of traveling this summer? Would you say a lot, some or not much at all?

A lot – 39%

Some – 38%

Not much at all – 17%

Unsure – 6%

 How much do gas prices in particular affect your likelihood of traveling this summer? Would you say a lot, some or not much at all?

A lot – 43%

Some – 32%

Not much at all – 19%

Unsure – 6%

Which of these places are you likely to travel this summer? [Items presented in a random order]

North Carolina residents – Memorial Day (May 2024)

Here is a list of some things that some people will be doing on Memorial Day. For each one, please tell me if that is something that you and your family will be doing or not. [Items presented in a random order]

Generally speaking, do you think that people in North Carolina do enough on Memorial Day to honor people who have died in service to the country?

Yes – 45%

No – 33%

Unsure – 22%

Generally speaking, do you think that people in the United States do enough on Memorial Day to honor people who have died in service to the country?

Yes – 41%

No – 42%

Unsure – 17%

Overall, how well would you say that the North Carolina state government has done in providing each of these services for veterans? [Items presented in a random order]

HPU Poll 103 was fielded by the High Point University Survey Research Center (SRC) on May 2 through May 9 as an online survey using a panel of respondents recruited and maintained by Marketing System Group (MSG). MSG sent invitations to its panel of N.C. respondents and the SRC collected 1,002 total responses on its Qualtrics platform. In this case, the SRC provides a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points