{"id":103208,"date":"2016-06-27T09:21:49","date_gmt":"2016-06-27T14:21:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=103208"},"modified":"2016-06-27T09:21:49","modified_gmt":"2016-06-27T14:21:49","slug":"aaa-predicts-record-travel-4th-of-july-holiday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=103208","title":{"rendered":"AAA predicts record travel 4th of July holiday"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-100819\" src=\"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/TrafficHighway-300x202.jpg\" alt=\"TrafficHighway\" width=\"300\" height=\"202\" srcset=\"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/TrafficHighway-300x202.jpg 300w, http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/TrafficHighway-260x175.jpg 260w, http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/TrafficHighway.jpg 445w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>FARGO, ND\u00a0(June 27, 2016-CSi) \u2013 AAA projects nearly 43 million Americans will travel this Independence Day weekend. This represents the highest Fourth of July travel volume on record and a half million more travelers than last year.<\/p>\n<p>The holiday travel period is defined as Thursday, June 30 to Monday, July 4.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIndependence Day is always the most-traveled holiday of the summer, but this year it will be bigger than ever, primarily because of low gas prices,\u201d said Joseph J. Richardson Jr., President and CEO, AAA &#8211; The Auto Club Group. \u201cAirports will be just as crowded as the roads, because low fuel prices are making it more affordable to fly. If fundamentals remain the same, this could be a record-breaking year for summertime travel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>U.S. drivers have saved about $20 billion on gasoline so far this year compared to the same period in 2015, which has made travel more affordable than in recent years. A more confident consumer and rising economic activity also are offsetting a cooling labor market to help boost holiday travel.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Quick Stats<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Independence Day\u00a0travel volume\u00a0increased\u00a0six out of the last seven years<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/us.vocuspr.com\/Publish\/522440\/vcsPRAsset_522440_108229_94a27362-3355-4df9-9661-dc151d1601be_0.png\" width=\"300\" height=\"302\" align=\"right\" hspace=\"NaN\" vspace=\"NaN\" \/><\/li>\n<li>Auto traveler\u00a0totals will set a new record for the third consecutive year<\/li>\n<li>Gas prices\u00a0are forecast to be the lowest in 11 years<\/li>\n<li>3.43 million\u00a0air travelers\u00a0is 17.4 percent above the 2000-2015 average<\/li>\n<li>Nearly\u00a01 in every 6 people (15.6%) in the West North Central Region is expected to travel during the weekend.\u00a0 The seven-state region includes the Dakotas\u00a0and Minnesota. Nationally, 13.2 percent of the population will travel<\/li>\n<li>Rebounding\u00a0cruise bookings\u00a0are driving the rise in other modes of transportation<\/li>\n<li>AAA cruise bookings for the Independence Day holiday are 35% more than last year&#8217;s holiday<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Gas Prices Drive\u00a0Auto Travel<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Eighty-four percent of holiday travelers \u2013 more than 36 million people \u2013 will drive to their Independence Day destinations,\u00a0an increase of 1.2 percent over last year. Air travel is expected to increase 2.2 percent over last year, with 3.3 million Americans taking to the skies this Independence Day.<\/p>\n<p>Despite recent seasonal increases, gasoline prices remain well below recent years. The average price for a gallon of gasoline in\u00a0North Dakota\u00a0today is $2.27, which is\u00a046\u00a0cents less than one year ago and $1.40\u00a0lower than this time in 2014. AAA\u00a0says North Dakota drivers\u00a0will pay the lowest Independence Day gas prices since 2005.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cruise Bookings Jump<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Travel by other modes of transportation, including cruises, trains and buses;\u00a0will increase 2 percent\u00a0to 3.3 million travelers. Much of that growth is attributed to an increase in\u00a0cruise bookings. AAA\u2019s holiday cruise bookings are 35 percent higher than last Independence Day.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Stranded Motorists Expected<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>AAA expects to rescue more than 370,000 motorists during the Independence Day holiday travel period, with the primary reasons being dead batteries, lockouts and flat tires. AAA recommends motorists check the condition of their battery and tires before heading out on a road trip. Also, have vehicles inspected by a trusted repair shop.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Download the AAA Mobile App<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Before setting out for Independence Day, download the free AAA Mobile app for iPhone, iPad and Android. Travelers can use the app to map a route, find lowest gas prices, access exclusive member discounts, make travel arrangements, request AAA roadside assistance, find AAA Approved Auto Repair facilities and more. Learn more at\u00a0AAA.com\/mobile.<\/p>\n<p>With the AAA Mobile app, travelers can also find more than 58,000 AAA Approved and Diamond Rated hotels and restaurants via TripTik Travel Planner. AAA\u2019s is the only rating system that uses full-time, professionally trained evaluators to inspect each property on an annual basis. Every AAA Approved establishment offers the assurance of acceptable cleanliness, comfort and hospitality, and ratings of One to Five Diamonds help travelers find the right match for amenities and services.<\/p>\n<p><strong>About the Projections<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>AAA\u2019s projections are based on economic forecasting and research by IHS Global Insight. The Colorado-based business information provider teamed with AAA in 2009 to jointly analyze travel trends during major holidays. AAA has been reporting on holiday travel trends for more than two decades.<\/p>\n<p><strong>About The Auto Club Group<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Auto Club Group (ACG) is the second largest AAA club in North America.\u00a0 ACG and its affiliates provide membership, travel, insurance and financial services offerings to over 9 million members across eleven states and two U.S. territories including Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands; most of Illinois and Minnesota; and a portion of Indiana.\u00a0 ACG belongs to the national AAA federation with more than 56 million members in the United States and Canada and whose mission includes protecting and advancing freedom of mobility and improving traffic safety.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FARGO, ND\u00a0(June 27, 2016-CSi) \u2013 AAA projects nearly 43 million Americans will travel this Independence Day weekend. This represents the highest Fourth of July travel volume on record and a half million more travelers than last year. The holiday travel period is defined as Thursday, June 30 to Monday, July [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-state"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=103208"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":103210,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103208\/revisions\/103210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=103208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=103208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=103208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}