HEATHROW, Fla. -- Travel this Fourth of July holiday will be one for the record books.
Fueled by low gasoline prices, an estimated 43 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles this Independence Day holiday, according to AAA. This would represent a 1.3% increase from last year, the highest travel volume on record for the five-day period, which AAA defines as June 30 to July 4.
Of the travelers, 84.6%—or 36.3 million—will drive to their destinations. This marks a 1.2% increase from last year, and the third consecutive high for auto travel for the Independence Day holiday.
AAA is projecting the lowest gas prices for the Fourth of July holiday since 2005. Motorists have paid about $20 billion less for gasoline this year compared to the same point last year. The national retail average for regular gasoline is $2.31 per gallon, or 47 cents per gallon (CPG) lower than this time a year ago, according to AAA. It has fallen 3 CPG over the past week and is down 2 CPG month over month. The highest state averages heading into the holiday weekend are led by California at $2.90 per gallon, followed by Hawaii ($2.79), Alaska ($2.66), Washington ($2.65) and Nevada ($2.55). The lowest averages are in South Carolina ($2.00), Mississippi ($2.06), Arkansas ($2.07), Alabama ($2.09) and Oklahoma ($2.09).
The travel group also credits the improving economy and a confident consumer for the increased travel projection.
AAA has worked with IHS Global Insight since 2009 to create its holiday travel projections. IHS Global bases its economic forecasting on macroeconomic drivers including employment, output, household net worth and travel- and tourism-related variables. D.K. Shifflet & Associates provides U.S. resident travel volume and behavior data for the analysis.
Click here for the complete AAA/IHS Global Insight 4th of July forecast.
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