Fourth of July travel may be down this year

AAA forecasts 40.8 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home for the Fourth of July holiday this year, a slight decrease from the 41.1 million who traveled last year. But this year’s numbers show a slowly recovering economy.

“Last year, the Fourth of July fell on a Wednesday, so we saw travelers wanting to take advantage of the longer holiday period, AAA spokeswoman Kaelyn Kelly said. “This year, the holiday falls on a Thursday, which explains part of the decline. At the same time, Independence Day is typically the busiest holiday of the summer travel season, with six million more Americans traveling than Memorial Day just two months ago.”

The holiday travel forecast for the Mountain region predicts a 0.5 percent decline in travel this Fourth of July holiday as compared to 2012. The decline in total person-trips in this region is slightly lower than for the nation as a whole (0.8 percent), and the percentage of travelers from the Mountain region expected to travel (13.5 percent) is higher than the projected national frequency (12.9 percent).

Gas prices are unlikely to be a major factor in travel decisions this holiday. The current national average price for a gallon of regular gas is $3.60, about 11 cents higher than last year. Despite the increase compared to last year, prices remain below their highs of earlier this year.

However, gas prices remain at a level most Americans consider too high. Half of U.S. adults consider gas prices to be “too high” when they reach $3.44 per gallon, according to a new consumer index developed by AAA. Forty-six percent of adults believe gas is too high when it reaches $3.00 per gallon; 61 percent when it reaches $3.50 per gallon; and 90 percent when it reaches $4.00 per gallon. Sixty-two percent of Americans are offsetting high gas prices by changing their driving habits or lifestyle.