July 4th travel expected to set record

The number of people traveling for the Fourth of July is expected to set a new record, according to projections from AAA.

AAA predicted in a Thursday press release that 70.9 million people will be traveling 50 miles or more the week of July 4. This is 5 percent higher than the number of people who traveled for the holiday last year and up 8 percent from 2019’s numbers, according to the company.

“With summer vacations in full swing and the flexibility of remote work, more Americans are taking extended trips around Independence Day,” said Paula Twidale, the senior vice president of AAA Travel. “We anticipate this July 4th week will be the busiest ever with an additional 5.7 million people traveling compared to 2019.”

AAA forecasted that a record 60.6 million people will be traveling by car for the holiday, which is 2.8 million more than those who traveled by car last year. It is also up from the number of people who traveled by car in 2019, when 55.3 million people did so.

The organization noted in their report that the number of people traveling by air has reached a new high, with 5.74 million people predicted to fly to their Fourth of July celebrations. This is 7 percent more than last year.

Around 4.62 million people are planning to travel for Independence Day by other methods — including buses, cruises and trains — per the report.

AAA noted that the travel period for the holiday is June 29-July 7. The company said this is the first year that the travel period is a longer timeframe because there are two weekends included.

Travel around the Fourth of July holiday last year also saw a record-high forecast from AAA, which projected that 50.7 million people would travel.