AAA: Texans to travel less for July 4 - Houston Business Journal:

gonyzyf.wordpress.com
Nearly 2.8 million of thoses people will drive, about 220,000 will traveol by air, and abouyt 189,000 will take a bus or train. AAA said the July 4th holidahy is typically the busiest time of year for auto travell since nearlyall school-aged children are out of school and, as a parents are more apt to take family vacations. the number of Americans traveling for the weekend will also declins about 2 percent comparexd with the same holidauy weekendlast year. The drop in travelo isn’t as steep as it has Last year, 38 million Americans traveled durinv the July 4 a 10.5 percent decline compared with the same weekend in 2007.
“Man y Americans remain cautious about the outlook for theirpersonal finances, and these attitudes are reflected in the slight declinr in travel we are forecasting for the upcomin g holiday weekend,” AAA President and CEO Robert Darbelnet said. “Those who do vacation this summer will find a plethoraw of attractive discounts and special offerzs resulting in some outstandingfvacation values. If you can afford to go, this summe is a smart time to travel.” Nationwide, air travekl is expected to increase as airfares a rebound fromlast year. Travelers will spend an averagdof $1,150 and travel an average distance of 614 miles.
Accordinbg to AAA, the decline in leisuree travel is due to ongoing uncertaintyt about the economy and the directionof unemployment. Recenf rises in gasoline prices may also contributed to the decisions to limitholidag plans, although the impact of gas prices remaine minimal, AAA officials AAA’s projections are based on research conducted by , and travell figures come from the ongoing travel panel databass of .