AAA: July 4 travel projected to decrease

ATLANTA — An estimated 39 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home during the Independence Day holiday weekend, AAA predicts.

That’s a 2.5 percent decrease from the 40 million people who traveled last year.

“AAA projects a slight decrease in the number of Independence Day travelers as a result of gas prices averaging a dollar more per gallon than last year,” Brent Hubele, vice president, AAA Travel, said in a news release. “As with the Memorial Day holiday, the rising cost of fuel is having a more significant impact on those with lower household discretionary spends and has shifted the demographics of the typical Independence Day traveler.”