U.S. July 4th Weekend Travel May Decline For The First Time In 10 Years

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The number of people hitting the road or flying over the Fourth of July holiday is likely to decline for the first time in a decade, a report said.

The record gasoline prices is going to force many to stay home or shorten their trips, according to motoring group, AAA on Thursday.

The report said 40.5 million people will travel, which is a 1.3 percent decrease from the 41 million who traveled last year, during the Fourth of July holiday travel period.

"Fuel prices are continuing to take a toll on the traveler's budget, but the travel industry is responding, as they have in the past, with discounts, promotions and other incentives to get people traveling this holiday," Brad Roeber, AAA Chicago-based president, said in a statement.

"For instance travelers should look out for free gas card offerings, breakfast promotions, kids-eat-free deals, car rental discounts, and of course, always ask about AAA member discounts."

AAA said that the U.S. retail gasoline averaged nationwide at $4.07 a gallon on Wednesday, which was 13 cents a gallon more than last month and $1.09 a year ago pricing.

Retail gasoline had reached a high of $4.08 on June 15. So far this year, the prices have gone up by 34 percent, according to AAA.

AAA has projected for the second consecutive travel holiday in 2008 to have lesser number of U.S. residents traveling in holiday.

The group had projected a drop by almost 1 percent among the holiday travelers for the Memorial Day travel holiday in May.

The latest projection includes U.S. residents traveling 50 miles or more from home.

"While the numbers of travelers are a bit off from last year's levels, it is important to note that there are still millions of Americans that plan to plan to travel," Roeber said.

The report predicts around 34.2 million Americans, which is almost 85 percent of all holiday travelers, expect to travel by automobile.

The figure of individuals traveling by automobile is a 1.2 percent drop from the 34.6 million people who drove to their holiday destinations last year.

While, almost 4.54 million Americans -- or about 11 percent of holiday travelers -- intend to travel by airplane, which is a 2.3 percent lower from the 4.64 million who flew last year.

The report estimates around 1.7 million people to use train, bus or other mode of transportation over the Independence Day weekend.