PORTLAND – Fewer people will be traveling on the Fourth of July holiday weekend, according to a study conducted by the American Automobile Association.
And much of the decrease was blamed on high gas prices.
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AAA projects 39 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home between Thursday, June 30 and Monday, July 4. This will mark a 2.5 percent decline from the 40 million people who traveled a year ago.
As for the region including Oregon and Washington state, holiday travel was expected to decrease by 2.3 percent, with 6.19 million people or 12.2 percent of the population taking trips.
Cars were still the most popular mode of transportation during the Independence Day holiday, with 84 percent of those surveyed planning to drive to their destinations. This, despite gas prices being nearly $1 more than this time last year.
“The regional economy is showing positive growth in some areas, but a more than 31 percent annual increase in gas prices is expected to reduce the demand for holiday travel,” said Marie Dodds, AAA Director of Government & Public Affairs. “These higher prices will keep some travelers home and cause others to scale back their plans.”
Airplane flights were the next most popular mode of travel, and they showed an increase this year.
“A little more than three million Americans will fly during the holiday weekend, a nine percent increase from last year,” Dodds explained.
She said that higher gas prices were also a contributing factor to the increase in air travel, despite recent increases in air fares.
