Record July 4th Travel Expected to Boost Cape Tourism

HYANNIS – Fourth of July week is here and a record-breaking number of Americans and Bay Staters are expected to travel for the holiday.

Almost 47 million people are expected to travel around the country – a 5 percent increase over last year.

In Massachusetts, 1.25 million are expected to head out for Independence Day with 1.1 million traveling by car.

With the holiday falling in the middle of the week, AAA Northeast’s Mary Maguire says travel to and from the Cape may be spread out.

“I think hot temps are going to impact people’s plans to some extent when they make their decisions as to whether or not to take Monday and Tuesday off versus Thursday and Friday,” Maguire said.

“It’s going to depend on the forecast when it comes to day-trippers.”

Maguire said the holiday falling on Wednesday could be a win for the tourism industry on Cape Cod.

“It does give people to opportunity to carve out two vacation days on either side and create a five day weekend for themselves so I think that is going to be very good for the Cape,” she said.

AAA predicts that Tuesday afternoon and evening and the morning of July 4th are expected to be the busiest travel times.

“I know that Thursday evening is always a big ‘Cape Escape’ night so I’m sure we are going to see heavy traffic as well for those perhaps who couldn’t get away on the 4th,” Maguire said.

Record travel numbers are being helped by gas prices that remain below $3.00 per gallon.

“We are about 62 cents [higher than] we were at this point last year for regular unleaded gasoline, but we are still under that $3 mark which is a tipping point for some people and that is terrific for the travel industry,” Maguire said.

Like always, travelers are advised to arm themselves with the best real-time traffic and weather forecasting tools.

“There are so many of them out there today,” Maguire said. “Whether you are relying on the MassDot website, or Waze or the AAA mobile app, no matter what it is make sure you access it and figure out what the travel and weather conditions are before you head out.”

Maguire also recommends that travelers get their vehicles tuned up before heading out to prevent getting stranded on the roadside.

“AAA expects to rescue more than 362,000 motorists across the country during the 4th of July holiday week and you don’t want to be one of them,” she said.”

Maguire said other planning efforts include packing snacks and water for car trips, fully charging devices before leaving and making sure all passengers have something to help them pass the time.

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