Next week, an estimated 41 million Americans will take to the road and friendly skies for Independence Day, according to auto club AAA. Fourth of July travel is up 1.9 percent compared to last year.
AAA defines holiday travel as traveling more than 50 miles from home from July 2 through July 6. Eight in 10 travelers, or 34.8 million, will travel by car, the highest since 2007. Air travel is up 1 percent, with airfare costing 5 percent lower on average than last year. Rental car rates are about the same, but hotel prices are up 15 percent compared to last year’s July 4th rates.
Rental car giant Enterprise Holdings, owner of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental, and Alamo Rent A Car, has seen an 11 percent spike in advance airport reservations ahead of the holiday weekend. Enterprise Rent-A-Car neighborhood locations are reporting double-digit growth in reservations.
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Most travelers will pay more for gas than for any Independence Day since 2008. The national average price for a gallon of regular today is about 20 cents a gallon more than the average on July 4, 2013. In years past, gas prices have dropped in the weeks leading up to the holiday. That hasn’t happened this year, however, because of higher crude oil costs related to the intensifying situation in Iraq, AAA reports.
Despite rising gas and hotel costs, AAA says many travelers are depending on credit cards to foot their holiday bill. As a result of improving employment projections and rising home values, Americans are more willing to incur more debt.