by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:40 AM ET, Fri June 26, 2020
A new study found that Americans will take an estimated 36.8 million road trips over the Fourth of July weekend.
According to travel data company Arrivalist, road trip travel will be down 11 percent from the 41.1 million people AAA predicted would hit the road in 2019, despite the Independence Day weekend being the biggest road trip event so far this year.
Arrivalist officials predict twice as many travelers will hit the road during the Fourth of July weekend compared to an average day in February, according to Daily Travel Index.
"In many respects these are unprecedented times, but solid data and reliable models can still provide the certainty that travelers and the travel industry need to adapt to the times," Arrivalist CEO Cree Lawson said in a statement.
The Daily Travel Index is a daily measure of road trip activity launched on April 1 by Arrivalist and has been adopted by the U.S. Travel Association and incorporated into many industry research tools.
On Thursday, AAA Travel predicted Americans would take 700 million trips this summer, a 15-percent decline in journeys as compared to last July through September. The 2020 forecast marks the first decline in summer travel since 2009.
The study also found that 97 percent of respondents would be traveling this summer via road trip, while air travel is expected to drop by an astounding 73 percent. Rail, cruise ship and bus travel are also likely to fall by 86 percent.
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