July 4 holiday travel will sizzle, not fizzle this year as nearly 48 million Americans – the second-highest travel volume on record – celebrate their new-found freedom to travel, says AAA Northeast.
“Travel is in full–swing since Americans are eager to pursue the travel they’ve put off for the last year and a half,” said Fran Mayko, AAA Northeast spokeswoman. “We found that Memorial Day travel was strong, but July 4 will sizzle.”
Of the overall 48 million travelers:
- 91.3% or nearly 44 million will travel by car, the highest on record for this holiday
- 7.4% or 3.5 million will fly, a volume that will reach 90% of pre-pandemic levels
- 1.3% or 620,000 will take some other mode of transportation, including buses and trains and in some cases, cruises.
Despite higher gas prices this year, the All-American road trip will dominate this holiday, said Mayko. “In fact, we expect this year’s car travel numbers to exceed 2019 volumes by 5%,” she said. “People will likely look for free activities and may eat out less, but still take vacations as planned.”
This year’s overall travel volume is nearly 40% higher than 2020 when the pandemic forced many Americans to postpone travel plans. It is slightly less – about 2.5% lower – compared to Independence Day 2019.
Compared to Independence Day, 2020:
- Theme parks such as DisneyWorld in Orlando and DisneyLand in Anaheim are topping the list of vacation destinations this year.
- Average airfares have declined 2%.
- Mid-range hotel rates have increased at least 32% with average nightly rates between $156 and $398 for AAA Two-Diamond and Three-Diamond accommodations, respectively
- Average daily car rental rates have increased 86%, topping out at $166 because of the chip shortage impacting auto manufacturers.