By Doyinsola Oladipo
NEW YORK (Reuters) -A record number of Americans are set to travel for the Fourth of July holiday by road and air, travel industry statistics show, but many last-minute travelers say their plans depend on whether they can get a good deal on airline tickets.
In more cases, the best value for travelers is for those looking to go abroad this year.
Average airfares are sharply lower for international trips than a year ago, with airlines discounting prices as inbound traffic to the U.S. from Europe has fallen in part due to stricter border controls and President Donald Trump’s policies.
Domestic U.S. airfares for the holiday travel period are about 3% lower than a year ago, but tickets to Europe and Asia are 13% cheaper, according to travel booking app Hopper.
“The tickets to Newark from Charlotte are like $250, and to fly all the way to London is $500, so you may as well fly international rather than just come up to New Jersey,” said travel nurse Ryan Patella, 24, who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, and has family in New Jersey.
About 10 travel agents told Reuters that some of their clients are flocking to Europe this summer due to ongoing discounts, and those staying in the U.S. are prioritizing the destinations they can reach by car.
Travel agent Laurel Brunvoll said she is seeing a rise in last-minute bookings to Europe because air ticket prices were not surging as they had in the past two years.
“In 2023, I had several travelers who desperately wanted to visit Portugal and paid almost $3,000 for one economy ticket,” she said that this year prices are more “normal” at $875 to $1,500 per person in economy.
About 72.2 million people are projected to travel more than 50 miles (80 km) for Fourth of July vacations over an eight-day period, according to travel group AAA.
That would be a new record, with an estimated 1.3 million more Americans on the roads and 80,000 more flying to their destinations compared to last year.
SHIFTING STRATEGIES
Travel companies said consumers still have an appetite for travel, despite broader concerns about inflation and the state of the economy. But they are seeing a bifurcation between people who have the funds to take advantage of long-haul flights, and those who are taking shorter trips or opting out of air travel and for road trips instead.
Ashley Pichardo, 24, a fire-alarm technician from San Antonio, Texas, said she took budget carrier Spirit Airlines to Newark to save on costs for a birthday trip.
“I gladly traveled with Spirit because of the price,” she said. “It was $300… flying with Spirit has been pretty good with the prices. No complaints.”
Domestic hotel rates for the July Fourth weekend are averaging $213 per night, down 8% from $232 per night in 2024, according to Hopper.
United Airlines is expecting 500,000 more travelers over a 10-day period including the July Fourth holiday, with international bookings up 5% year-over-year. Competitor American Airlines said it is expecting 5% more travelers over a 10-day period.
More people are booking last-minute this year, according to data from online travel agency Expedia Group’s vacation rental arm Vrbo. It said there was a 15% increase in travelers booking their rentals this summer within one month of their trip.
Families looking for last-minute travel were experiencing sticker shock when looking at the prices for last-minute cruises, all-inclusive resorts and airfares, said Christy Slavik, a travel agent and owner of the Mom Approved Travel agency.
The cost of travel has some travelers shifting their strategies instead of canceling plans, said travel agent Melissa Newman. Driving to the cruise port instead of flying has helped some consumers offset the cost as cruise travel demand continues to boom, she said.
(Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo and Samantha Marshak in New York; Editing by Jamie Freed)
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