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Key Takeaways
- Travel group AAA says this Independence Day holiday will be the busiest ever, projecting 70.9 million people will head 50 miles or more from home over the July 4th week.
- That would represent a 5% year-over-year rise and an 8% increase compared with the pre-pandemic levels of 2019.
- AAA says that gas prices are lower than last year’s national average of $3.53, and projects a record 60.6 million Americans will travel by car.
Travel group AAA expects 70.9 million Americans to travel 50 miles or more during the Independence Day holiday period, topping levels seen before the pandemic.
This year’s projected numbers would mark a 5% year-over-year increase from 2023 and an 8% increase over 2019, when 65.2 million Americans traveled. Remote work was one of the reasons cited for the growth.
“With summer vacations in full swing and the flexibility of remote work, more Americans are taking extended trips around Independence Day,” AAA Travel Senior Vice President Paula Twidale said.
AAA assessed the whole July 4th week, including the Saturday before and the Sunday after, for the first time.
Gas Prices Hold Below Year-Ago Levels
However, a recent study said that 90% of U.S. households earning between $50,000 and $148,000 a year were cutting spending in areas that included summer vacations. The Biden Administration last month decided to have the Department of Energy release 42 million barrels of gasoline from the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve (NGSR) into the market, seeking to lower prices at the pump.
The AAA on Friday said the average price of a gallon of unleaded gas was $3.50, below the year-ago $3.56. It said last week that 60.6 million Americans were expected to travel by car over the holiday period.
Air travel is also expected to set a new record, with 5.74 million people forecast to fly to their destinations, up nearly 7% from 2023 and 12% over 2019.
Seattle, Vancouver, and Anchorage are top destinations for July 4th travelers due to the popularity of Alaskan cruises. Beach trips favor South Florida, Honolulu, and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Barcelona, London, Rome, Dublin, and Paris are among the top European destinations, AAA booking data showed.