July Fourth Travel Plans Surge Despite Airfare, Gas Price Hikes, Says Auto Club
27 June 2000
July Fourth Travel Plans Surge Despite Airfare, Gas Price Hikes, Says Auto Club
LOS ANGELES - Nearly five million Californians will help make this Fourth of July one of the busiest vacation holidays in history, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California.Of those, almost 2.8 million Southern Californians will travel 100 miles or more by car this holiday weekend to vacation destinations, according to Auto Club projections. Nationally, 37.5 million people, or one in seven Americans, are expected to take July 4 trips by car, bus, train or ship, making this the second most popular Fourth of July travel season on record. The record for July 4 travel was set in 1986, when 38 million Americans took trips.
"Celebrating Independence Day on vacation has become an American tradition for millions," said Tim Irwin, managing director of travel services for the Auto Club. "This year, many travelers are taking advantage of the Tuesday holiday to create a four-day weekend, or they are using July 4 as part of their longer vacations."
Independence Day is generally the second most popular holiday period for travel, behind the Christmas-New Year's Day season. Last Christmas, an estimated 44.6 million Americans took holiday trips.
A survey by the Auto Club's AAA Travel Agency survey shows that the five most popular destinations for Southern Californians over July 4 are:
1) National Parks (Grand Canyon, Yosemite)
2) Baja California/Mexico resorts
3) Las Vegas
4) Santa Barbara
5) Catalina
On average, motorists will pay about 25 cents more per gallon of gas than they did over the 1999 Independence Day holiday. In Los Angeles, the average gas price is $1.59 a gallon this week compared to $1.32 last year.
The higher prices haven't dampened travelers' enthusiasm. "A driver whose car gets 20 miles to the gallon will pay just $25 more to travel 2000 miles, so the gas price increases have not yet played a major role in changing travelers' plans," Irwin said.
Leisure airfares continue to rise over this summer season, both because of increased demand from travelers and higher fuel prices, Irwin said.
The Auto Club is warning motorists about continued Caltrans construction work on the Grapevine portion of the Golden State (I-5) Freeway, which has shut down traffic to two lanes in each direction for a seven-mile stretch. Some freeway entries and exits along that stretch will also be closed for portions of time over the holiday weekend. Caltrans expects heavy traffic congestion at that location this Friday afternoon and evening, and possibly Monday evening. Drivers are advised to pick alternate times or routes.
Before leaving for their destinations, motorists can call the California Highway Information Number at 1-800-427-7623 for interstate and state route lane closures and highway closures. The information is updated hourly.
Also, the Auto Club is working to reduce the number of tragic holiday drunken driving crashes by offering its free "Tipsy Tow" service to all Southern California motorists. Any Southern California driver can call 1-800-400-4AAA anytime between 6 p.m. this Saturday and midnight on July 4 to request a free tow and ride home of up to seven miles.
The Automobile Club of Southern California, the largest affiliate of the AAA, has been serving members since 1900. Today, the Auto Club's members benefit by roadside assistance, insurance products and services, travel agency, financial products, automotive pricing, buying and financing programs, automotive testing and analysis, trip planning services, highway and transportation safety programs and legislative advocacy.