Record July Fourth travel expected: AAA

Record travel is expected across the country over the Fourth of July weekend this year, with more than 50 million Americans projected to travel at least 50 miles from home, according to AAA. 

The organization said in a Tuesday release the 50.7 million people expected to travel 50 miles or more would surpass the record of 49 million people traveling in 2019. AAA also projects records for the number of people traveling by car, with 43.2 million expected to do so, a 2.4 percent increase from last year. 

“We’ve never projected travel numbers this high for Independence Day weekend,” said Paula Twidale, the senior vice president of AAA Travel, in the release. “What this tells us is that despite inventory being limited and some prices 50% higher, consumers are not cutting back on travel this summer. Many of them heeded our advice and booked early, another sign of strong travel demand.” 

The release states air travel is also expected to break a record with 4.17 million passengers flying to their destinations, up 11.2 percent from 2022. The record of 3.91 million travelers was set in 2019. 

The percentage of people choosing to travel by air this year is also the highest in almost 20 years at 8.2 percent. 

The release notes that gas prices have dropped considerably from where they stood a year ago. It states the average price for a gallon of regular gas was $4.80 on July 4 last year, but it has remained between $3.50 and $3.60 in recent months. 

The release states that INRIX, which records transportation data and provides insight, expects Friday to be the busiest travel day of the weekend. Average travel times are expected to be 30 percent above normal. 

INRIX said people traveling that day should leave in the morning or after 6 p.m. to avoid the heaviest traffic. 

AAA is considering the holiday weekend to be from Friday through Tuesday.