Higher gas prices to hit July 4 travel

AAA says fewer Americans will travel 50 miles or more during the holiday weekend.

EMAIL  |   PRINT  |   SHARE  |   RSS
 
google my aol my msn my yahoo! netvibes
Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader
See all CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close)

Gasoline prices and taxes by state
Prices at the pump can vary widely among states due to a number of factors. More
What investment strategy will you follow for the rest of the year?
  • Aggressively buying stocks
  • Slowly adding more stocks
  • Beefing up bonds and cash
  • Not changing a thing

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- U.S. travel over the Independence Day holiday weekend will drop 1.9% this year compared to 2008, a casualty of higher fuel prices and economic worries, travel and auto group AAA projected Wednesday.

Approximately 37.1 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more away from home during the Fourth of July holiday weekend, typically the busiest time for auto travel in the U.S., down from 37.8 million last year.

"Many Americans remain cautious about the outlook for their personal finances and these attitudes are reflected in the slight decline in travel we are forecasting for the upcoming holiday weekend," said AAA Chief Executive Robert L. Darbelnet.

Ongoing fears about the state of the economy coupled with increasing joblessness and falling incomes are major factors in reducing Fourth of July travel, AAA said.

Auto travel will drop 2.6% from last year's levels due to higher fuel prices. But air travel, which will account for just 5% of Fourth of July travel, will increase 4.9% due to lower fares and pent-up demand.

Gasoline prices are more than 30% lower than they were a year ago, but recent increases at the pump will steer Americans away from road trips, AAA said.

On Tuesday, average U.S. retail gasoline prices were $2.68 a gallon, about 11% higher than a month ago, according to AAA.

Attractive airfares are also likely to contribute to less auto travel, AAA said.

AAA's forecast for the July 4 weekend is the opposite of the forecast for the Memorial Day holiday weekend in May, when AAA predicted a 1.5% increase in travel from 2008 levels, with automobile trips increasing 2.7% and air travel dipping 1%.

Despite the gloomy news keeping more Americans at home this summer, those who do venture out on vacation will find some good bargains.

The lowest average published airfares over the holiday weekend are expected to decrease 16% from last year and hotel rates are also expected to be cheaper than last year.

"Those who do vacation this summer will find a plethora of attractive discounts," Darbelnet said. "If you can afford to go, this summer is a smart time to travel." To top of page

Features
They're hiring!These Fortune 100 employers have at least 350 openings each. What are they looking for in a new hire? More
If the Fortune 500 were a country...It would be the world's second-biggest economy. See how big companies' sales stack up against GDP over the past decade. More
Sponsored By:
More Galleries
10 of the most luxurious airline amenity kits When it comes to in-flight pampering, the amenity kits offered by these 10 airlines are the ultimate in luxury More
7 startups that want to improve your mental health From a text therapy platform to apps that push you reminders to breathe, these self-care startups offer help on a daily basis or in times of need. More
5 radical technologies that will change how you get to work From Uber's flying cars to the Hyperloop, these are some of the neatest transportation concepts in the works today. More
Sponsors
Worry about the hackers you don't know 
Crime syndicates and government organizations pose a much greater cyber threat than renegade hacker groups like Anonymous. Play
GE CEO: Bringing jobs back to the U.S. 
Jeff Immelt says the U.S. is a cost competitive market for advanced manufacturing and that GE is bringing jobs back from Mexico. Play
Hamster wheel and wedgie-powered transit 
Red Bull Creation challenges hackers and engineers to invent new modes of transportation. Play

Copyright 2009 Reuters All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.