More mountain state travelers to hit the road this holiday

DENVER (AP) - AAA predicts about 7.6 percent more residents in mountain states will take trips this Memorial Day weekend compared with last year.

AAA expects about 2.5 million residents of Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming to take trips for the holiday, mostly by car.

The travel group released a forecast Thursday that projects about 32.1 million people nationwide will go on trips during the final weekend in May. That's an increase of 5.4 percent.

It based its forecast on research by IHS Global Insight.

AAA says that nationally, car rental rates during the weekend are forecast to fall 15 percent from last year to $36.65 per day, and a slight drop in hotel rates is expected as well.