The
Fourth of July holiday is a week away and high gas prices are not
expected to stop travelers from hitting the road in high numbers.
According
to AAA, 47.9 million Americans are expected to travel 50 miles or more
this holiday weekend. It’s the second highest all-time high.
Car
travel will set a record with 42 million road trippers despite $4.90
gasoline, the highest price ever for Independence Day.
Ongoing problems with flight cancellations and delays may be partly responsible for the surge in car trips.
While more are flying than last year, the percentage of air travelers is the lowest since 2011, outside the aberrant pandemic year of 2020.
Travel
in the “other” category includes trains, busses and cruise ships and
will see 2.42 million travelers, much higher than last year’s 900,000.
“Travel sales are booming, especially since the decision to abolish the need for a negative COVID test to reenter the U.S.,” said Robert Sinclair, Jr. of AAA Northeast.