4th of July travel expected to be the ‘busiest ever’

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Nearly 71 million people are expected to travel over the Fourth of July holiday, potentially setting an all-time record in the United States. Here in Utah, the Salt Lake City area is already seeing a boost in car rentals.

AAA is projecting that 70.9 million people will travel between June 29 and July 7, a nine-day period that covers the next two weekends. Typically, Fourth of July travel only covers one weekend.

“With summer vacations in full swing and the flexibility of remote work, more Americans are taking extended trips around Independence Day,” said Paula Twidale, senior vice president of AAA Travel, in a news release.

“We anticipate this July 4th week will be the busiest ever with an additional 5.7 million people traveling compared to 2019,” she added.

More than 60 million travelers are expected to take to the roads, driving at least 50 miles to their holiday destination. This would break the record set in 2019, when 55.3 million traveled by car for their Independence Day festivities.

Salt Lake City is displaying some of the highest car rental demand ahead of the holiday, according to the rental company Hertz. Other metros seeing high rental demand include Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

Fueling the bump in road travel is low gas prices. According to the website GasBuddy, the average price of gas in Salt Lake City is around $3.49 a gallon, down roughly 50 cents from last summer. Similar trends are being seen across the country.

According to transportation data provider INRIX, the busiest travel times for drivers will likely be on Wednesday, July 3, and Sunday, July 7. On the Fourth of July itself, the busiest hours are expected to be between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

“Road trips over the holiday week could take up to 67% longer than normal,” said Bob Pishue, transportation analyst at INRIX, in a statement. “Travelers should monitor 511 services, local news stations, and traffic apps for up-to-the-minute road conditions.”

A record number of travelers are also expected to fly over the holiday. AAA estimates that 5.7 million people will take to the skies, an increase of 12% over 2019. Travelers should expect airports to be packed and arrive early to catch their flights, AAA advises.

However, the Salt Lake City International Airport is not expecting record travel over the Fourth of July holiday, airport spokesperson Nancy Volmer told ABC4.com. She noted that this time of year “is not typically one of our busier travel periods.”

Outside of driving and flying, 4.6 million people are also anticipated to travel by other means across the country, such as by train, bus, or cruise. AAA noted that cruising, which is popular in Alaska this time of year, has rebounded remarkably since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.