EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Millions of Americans will be hitting the road or skies for the 4th of July weekend, and AAA Texas projects the numbers to be record-breaking for Texas and across the country.
“It’s going to be the busiest 4th of July ever, and whether you’re traveling with family, friends or we see an uptick in solo travel, it’s going to be very busy,” said AAA Texas spokesperson Daniel Armbruster.
“You need to pack your patience, whether you’re on the road, at the airport, or even on the cruise port. We see more people taking cruises this year, so that’s also another trend,” he said.
Armbruster said AAA projects 5.6 million Texans will be traveling for Independence Day this week, and 4.8 million of those or 87% will be traveling by car.
Just over half-a-million of those Texans will be flying in the next nine days.
Armbruster said these numbers indicate an 8.3% increase from 2019, which was a record-breaking year for travel.
AAA’s forecast is for travel happening between Saturday, June 29, and Sunday, July 7.
Armbruster said they’re expanding their forecast time from five to nine days because of new trends that show people will be on the road longer.
“With the popularity of remote work that has grown in the last few years, we’re seeing more people take the entire week off for this holiday,” Armbruster said.
With Independence Day falling on Thursday this year, Armbruster said people are taking the opportunity of enjoying an extended vacation spanning over two weekends.
AAA projects that Wednesday, July 3rd will be the busiest day on the road, especially in metropolitan areas where regular commuters and holiday travelers will be mixed in.
AAA also expects to help about 800,000 motorists across the country this week due to flat tires, dead batteries, or engine failures, which is why they urge people to properly inspect their vehicles before hitting the road, especially people traveling to extremely hot areas where issues are exacerbated.
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