AAA Mid-Atlantic expects more record-breaking travel for the long July 4th holiday weekend.
More than 204,000 Delawareans plan to travel for the holiday with more than 88% of them – or more than 180,000 Delawareans – expected to hit the road.
That’s a 5.4% increase over last year and the overall increase in travelers is a 5.6% percent increase over last year.
Even those traveling by air or train, bus and cruise are expected to increase by over 6% and more than 8.5% over last year.
Delaware’s increased numbers mirror the national trend for this holiday, which AAA measures from Saturday before the holiday through the Sunday after the holiday, a 9-day period.
And AAA Mid-Atlantic’s Jana Tidwell says some people may work as they travel.
"People kind of adjust the way they travel, especially for the July 4th holiday. Schools are out, many people have a flexible remote work situation where they may not even have to take all the vacation days that they typically would. You can work from anywhere in many cases today," said Tidwell.
Nationally, over 353 million people are traveling -with almost 5% more hitting the road this year compared to last and just under 7% more flying to their destination.
Tidwell says people now are taking longer trips.
"They are extending their trips, they are staying longer. They are not waiting to travel internationally. International bookings have been up double digits last year and this year. So people have this mindset now that they are not putting these things off anymore," said Tidwell.
If you’re traveling this week, minimal traffic impact is expected Monday, and Tuesday through Thursday the worst travel time is between 2 and 7 pm.
The best times are after 7 pm Tuesday and before noon Wednesday and Thursday.
