People in the U.S. are feeling better about the coming Memorial Day weekend than they did a year ago, according to an IBM study. As a result they may have bigger travel and shopping plans for the unofficial kickoff of the summer road-trip and vacation season.

Through an analysis of social media sentiment IBM found a significant increase in the number of people talking about travel and spending. The IBM Social Sentiment Index, uses analytics and language processing technology to identify and gather consumer opinions from Twitter, blogs, message boards and other social media.

According to the index conversations about Memorial Day travel increased by 46% compared to 2011. This suggests travel providers could see a boost in business and transportation officials will have to deal with more traffic. The index also shows a 65% rise in people mentioning traveling by air while discussion of driving increased 13%.

IBM said consumer sentiment regarding gasoline prices is surprisingly positive considering the average price of a gallon of regular gas, while 13 cents lower than a year ago, is still high at $3.71 according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Social media showed a five-to-one ratio of positive to negative mentions about gas in 2012 compared to a one-to-one ratio in 2011. These trends may indicate people are more confident about their finances this year.