Phoenix, Ariz. June 23, 2010. Hold the sparklers! More Americans are heading out of town this year versus last year to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday, according to AAA. After posting declines in 2008 and 2009, the auto club’s annual Fourth of July travel forecast reveals a healthy recovery in travel over the upcoming holiday weekend.  

According to the forecast, nearly 760,000 Arizonans are projected to travel 50 or more miles from home over the Fourth of July weekend. This represents a jump of 19.5 percent, or an increase of more than 123,000 travelers compared to last year. Nationwide, 34.9 million Americans will travel over the holiday weekend, an increase of 17.1 percent, or 5.1 million more travelers compared to last year.

“Last year, economic hardship caused Fourth of July travel to produce one of the lowest travel volumes of the decade,” said Linda Gorman, communications and public affairs director for AAA Arizona. “This year, improvements to the economic landscape have helped the holiday travel period post a two-year high and return to some normalcy. In addition, this year’s holiday falls on the weekend, which means consumers are more likely to travel as a result of the  automatic three-day weekend.”

The table below illustrates projected 2010 Fourth of July travel compared to 2009:

Travelers will likely notice a slight increase in travel costs across the board compared to last year, according to AAA’s Leisure Travel Index. The table below illustrates the change in travel related costs from Fourth of July 2009:

Arizonans will spend less and travel further than travelers in other parts of the country, according to auto club estimates. Arizonans are projected to spend an average of $579 over the Fourth of July holiday, 10 percent less than the national average of $644. In addition, Arizonans will travel an average 926 miles round-trip, which is 50 percent further than the national average of 617 miles.

According to the auto club, the most popular drive-destinations for Arizonans include:

• Albuquerque, N.M.
• Yellowstone National Park, Wyo.
• Denver, Colo.
• Flagstaff, Ariz.
• Mount Rushmore National Memorial, S.D.
• Las Vegas, Nev.
• Oklahoma City, Okla.
• Santa Fe, N.M.
• Salt Lake City, Utah
• Durango, Colo.

To save time, money and help in unexpected scenarios, the auto club encourages travelers to become familiar with AAA’s mobile solutions before taking to the roads and skies over the holiday weekend. iPhone applications, including AAA Discounts, AAA Roadside and AAA TripTik Mobile, enable members to find discounts, summon roadside assistance and locate fuel price information, directions and more near user locations. AAA FindMe™ allows Sprint® customers to have their GPS location sent to AAA when requesting roadside assistance.

Research for Fourth of July holiday travel projections are derived from IHS Global Insight, which conducts special research for AAA. The holiday travel period is defined as trips that include travel of 50 miles or more from home between Thursday, July 1 and Monday, July 5.

AAA Arizona, the Arizona affiliate of AAA, provides automotive, insurance and auto travel services to nearly 800,000 Arizona members.  Annually, AAA’s Emergency Road Service responds to more than 450,000 calls for help on the streets and highways of the state as well as providing insurance, travel, and financial services to AAA members and motorists. Since its founding in 1927, AAA Arizona has been a leading advocate for the safety and security of all travelers.  In 2008, AAA was ranked the No. 1 “socially responsible” brand by Landor’s BrandAsset® Valuator.