This upcoming Independence Day holiday weekend is expected to bring out more than 3 million Mountain West residents who will travel 50 miles or more away from home, according to the latest AAA travel survey. This represents a 0.1 percent decrease from 2014.
AAA projects approximately 2.4 million Mountain West residents will drive to reach their holiday destinations. That’s a 0.3 percent increase when compared to travel figures from 2014. Air travel will increase by 0.1 percent with more than 319,000 travelers expected to take to the skies. More than 280,000 Mountain West residents plan to travel by other modes of transportation, such as rail, bus and watercraft. This represents a decrease of 3.2 percent when compared to travel figures from last year.
Nationally, AAA forecasts more than 41 million people will travel 50 miles or more during the Fourth of July holiday weekend, representing a 0.7 percent increase compared to last year.
Independence Day holiday weekend airfares are expected to decline by 6 percent with the lowest round-trip rate averaging $227 ticket to the top 40 U.S. air routes, according to the AAA Leisure Travel Index. Hotel rates at AAA Three Diamond lodgings are increasing by 6 percent this year, averaging $195 per night.
