Record-breaking travel anticipated for July 4 weekend, AAA says

Traveling this Independence Day weekend? The roads may be more packed then ever.

Travel volumes are projected to reach unprecedented levels, according to AAA, which estimates that 50.7 million Americans will embark on journeys of 50 miles or more from their homes, setting a new record for the holiday.

It's 2.1 million more travelers compared to the the July 4 weekend of 2022 and tops the previous record, set before the pandemic in 2019, of 49 million individuals traveled.

The trend is true of Massachusetts as well, according to Mary Maguire, an official at AAA Northeast.

"We have never before anticipated such high travel figures for Independence Day weekend. More than 1.4 million Massachusetts residents will be among those traveling, 1.2 million of us by car. Both mirror the national trends and are higher than the number of travelers and drivers from a year ago,” she said in a statement.

Driving for the holiday weekend is expected to be up 2.4% from 2022 nationwide, though gas prices are lower than last year, according to AAA.

At the same time, air travel is expected to reach new heights, with AAA estimating that 4.17 million Americans will fly to their desired destinations during the holiday weekend, up 11.2% from the previous year and 6.6% from 2019, the previous record, according to AAA. The share of air travelers in the overall holiday forecast this year is 8.2%, the highest in nearly two decades.

Passengers appear to be tolerating higher ticket prices as well, paying 40-50% more compared to the previous year on tickets, AAA said.

The demand for rental cars, which experienced shortages during the pandemic, has improved as inventory steadily increases with the addition of newer models and electric vehicles to car inventories. AAA reports that rental prices have slightly decreased from the previous year, with a significant rise in demand for international rental cars, surpassing an 80% increase compared to 2022.