Independence Day Travel To Hit All-Time High: 5 Must Buys
Zacks Investment Research | Jul 02, 2017 09:09PM ET
A record number of Americans will be venturing away from home to celebrate Independence Day this year.
Such a spike in travel is being backed by cheaper gas prices, a 16-year low rate of unemployment and confident consumers. This calls for investing in the travel space for attractive returns.
July 4 to See Record High Travel
According to a forecast from auto club AAA, a record number of travelers are projected to travel 50 miles or more. A total of 44.2 million travelers are expected to travel this Independence Day, reflecting an increase of 2.9% or 1.25 million from last year. This will mark the most travelled Independence Day since AAA has started tracking the numbers.
Almost 37.5 million travelers are expected to drive, showing an increase of 2.9% over last year’s Independence Day. About 3.44 million leisure travelers will take to the skies, which is 4.6% higher than the year-ago level. Meanwhile, travel by other modes of transport like cruises, trains and buses is expected to increase 1.4% to 3.27 million.
Travelers will enjoy lower prices for car rentals and airfares on the day. Daily car rentals on an average are expected at around $65, which is 14% lower than last Independence Day. Average airfares for top 40 domestic flight routes will be 10% lower this year compared to last year, with an average round ticket coming at $186.
Bustling Summer Air Travel Season
Independence Day travel is poised to be the busiest for holidaymakers, adding to the already lively summer air travel season. According to the Airlines for America (A4A), around 234.1 million passengers or approximately 2.54 million per day are expected to take to the skies between June and August, which represents an all-time high. This also represents growth of 4% over last summer’s 224.8 million travelers. During this period, airlines have been adding 123,000 seats per day to accommodate the additional 100,000 passengers likely to fly.
Jack Christine, deputy aviation director of Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, the second largest transportation hub in the U.S. said that “we will break records this summer”, while Oakland International Airport expects a 10% increase in passenger count from last year (read more: Zacks Investment Research
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