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Over 3 million Ohioans to hit the road

VW independent staff/submitted information

While Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start to summer, the July 4 holiday kicks off the family travel season, with a record number of travelers as parents are unencumbered by school schedules and related obligations.

AAA recently announced that nearly 71 million people will be traveling for the holiday weekend. AAA looked at the entire July 4 week, plus the Saturday before and the Sunday after the holiday. This year’s projected number of travelers for that time period is a five percent increase compared to last year and an eight increase over 2019. 

AAA projects a record 60.6 million people will travel by car over Independence Day week – that’s an additional 2.8 million travelers compared to last year. This year’s number also surpasses 2019 when 55.3 million people traveled by car over July 4 week.

The number of air travelers is also expected to set a new record. AAA projects 5.74 million people will fly to their July 4 destinations. That’s an increase of nearly 7 percent compared to last year and a 12 percent increase over 2019.

A closer look at Ohio reveals the record-breaking trend continues with 3.3 million Ohioans traveling for the holiday, a 5.3 percent increase. The majority of people will be driving to their destination – three million Ohioans, a 5.1 percent increase. With airfares down slightly from last year, about 120,000 Ohioans plan to take to the sky to reach their destination, and increase of 4.1 percent.

As true with Memorial Day travel other travel (trains, buses and cruises) is making a big come-back. AAA is projecting 199,000 Ohioans will travel by these “other” modes.

POSTED: 06/27/24 at 3:42 am. FILED UNDER: News