1.6 million Tennesseans anticipated to journey for Fourth of July week

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WBBJ) – AAA initiatives greater than 1.6 million Tennesseans will journey not less than 50 miles from dwelling for the Independence Day vacation journey interval, which runs from Saturday, June 27 by way of Sunday, July 5. Most vacationers will take to the street, with greater than 1.4 million Tennesseans driving to their locations. Air journey stays regular, whereas cruising and different modes of transportation see the strongest progress.

While this yr’s enhance is modest in comparison with current positive factors, it nonetheless units a document for Fourth of July journey in Tennessee, as robust client demand continues to offset increased journey prices.

“For many families, traveling for Independence Day isn’t just a trip, it’s a tradition,” mentioned Debbie Haas, Vice President of Travel for AAA – The Auto Club Group. “Vacations are one category where consumers are still willing to spend, even if that means cutting back on something else. With an extended holiday travel period, we expect busy roads, steady demand for flights, and continued interest in cruises across many parts of the country.”

Rather than staying dwelling, many vacationers are selecting to offset increased journey prices by:

• Taking shorter holidays
• Choosing locations nearer to dwelling
• Closely evaluating the price of driving vs flying
• Planning a cruise or all-inclusive resort the place prices are extra outlined
• Cutting again on extras like consuming out and souvenirs

This flexibility helps maintain general journey quantity, even when costs enhance. For those that haven’t finalized their plans, it’s not too late to work with a journey agent to search out last-minute choices or financial savings.

Tennessee Travelers
	Total	Auto	Air	Other
2026	1.61 million (+0.3%)	1.47 million (+0.2%)	71,974 (-0.5%)	76,241 (+4%)
2025	1.61 million (+2%)	1.46 million (+2%)	72,332 (+0.4%)	73,371 (+6%)
2024	1.58 million (+4%)	1.44 million (+4%)	72,073 (+6%)	69,540 (+4%)

National Travel Figures are Slightly Higher Than Last Year

Tennessee’s progress displays a broader nationwide pattern. AAA initiatives 72.2 million Americans to journey throughout the Independence Day vacation interval, setting one other document regardless of a slower tempo of progress. This yr’s projection is simply a half-percent enhance from final yr as rising inflationary pressures take a toll.

National Traveler Numbers
	Total	Auto	Air	Other
2026	72.2 million (+0.5%)	61.4 million (+0.2%)	5.84 million (+0.2%)	4.9 million (+5%)
2025	71.8 million (+1.8%)	61.3 million (+1.6%)	5.83 million (+1.3%)	4.7 million (+5%)
2024	70.5 million (+4.6%)	60.3 million (+4.3%)	5.76 million (+7.2%)	4.5 million (+5%)

Independence Day Travelers by Mode of Transportation

By Car: AAA initiatives 61.4 million individuals will journey by automobile over July 4th week, almost the identical quantity as final yr when 61.3 million vacationers took street journeys. 85% of Americans touring for Independence Day are anticipated to drive to their locations.

Gas Prices: Given the current volatility in gasoline costs, it’s too early to know what drivers ought to count on to pay on the pump. The Tennessee common is round $3.58 per gallon. Last yr, the state common for a gallon of standard gasoline was $2.75, and the nationwide common was $3.15 per gallon. In 2022, the nationwide common was $4.80 on Independence Day. Visit GasPrices.AAA.com to view each day gasoline worth averages.

By Air: More than 5.8 million vacationers will take home flights over the July 4th week, a 0.2% enhance over final yr. Air vacationers account for 8% of vacation vacationers. According to AAA knowledge, which is predicated on what vacationers paid once they booked their Independence Day journeys, round-trip home flights to high locations like Chicago and Denver are 5% costlier. Domestic flights general are averaging about $830 a ticket.

By Other Modes: Travel by different modes is seeing the largest year-over-year progress in comparison with automobile and air journey. AAA initiatives 4.93 million Americans will take buses, trains, and cruises over Independence Day week, a 5.3% enhance from final yr. This yr can also be anticipated to surpass 2019’s determine of 4.79 million vacationers, due largely to the post-COVID cruising growth. Travelers are drawn to cruise holidays as a result of they know the way a lot the journey will price upfront, and the ship gives all-inclusive eating, varied leisure choices, and a number of locations.

Car Rentals: For vacationers renting vehicles over July 4th, AAA automobile rental associate Hertz expects Thursday, July 2 to be the busiest pickup day. Hertz says Orlando, Denver, Boston, Los Angeles, and New York City are the cities with the best demand based mostly on superior bookings. According to AAA reserving knowledge, home automobile leases are 10% costlier this vacation week in comparison with final yr. AAA members obtain discounted automobile rental charges when reserving with Hertz.

AAA’s Top Independence Day Destinations

Travelers who booked their journeys with AAA are heading to main U.S. cities over July 4th week and flying internationally to Canada and Europe. AAA journey brokers have seen a surge in demand for cruises to Alaska, which is why Seattle, Anchorage, and Fairbanks are all high home locations. Independence Day fireworks and festivities in New York, Chicago, and Boston additionally draw large crowds. Florida ranks excessive due to theme parks, seashores, and cruise ports. On the worldwide aspect, Vancouver tops the record, adopted by main European cities like Rome, Dublin, Paris, and London.

Ranking	Domestic	International
1.	Seattle, WA	Vancouver, Canada
2.	Orlando, FL	Rome, Italy
3.	Anchorage, AK	Dublin, Ireland
4.	Miami, FL	Paris, France
5.	New York, NY	London, England
6.	Chicago, IL	Calgary, Canada
7.	Fort Laurderdale, FL	Reykjavik, Iceland
8.	Fairbanks, AK	Amsterdam, Netherlands
9.	Denver, CO	Athens, Greece
10.	Boston ,MA	Barcelona, Spain

Summer Safety on the Road

Impaired Driving: July 4th week may be particularly harmful on the street with extra teen drivers behind the wheel and an increase in impaired driving as a consequence of vacation festivities. That’s why AAA is urging drivers to decide to 100 Days of Safe Driving this summer time. According to AAA crash knowledge evaluation, almost one in three summertime visitors deaths includes an impaired driver. AAA, in partnership with MADD, reminds anybody who plans to drink or use impairing substances to rearrange a sober experience earlier than going out. The Auto Club Group will present its Tow to Go program in choose states from 6 pm Friday, July third to six am Monday, July sixth.

AAA Roadside Response: Drivers getting ready to take street journeys also needs to prioritize automobile upkeep and keep on high of routine oil adjustments, plus examine battery situation and tire stress. Last yr, AAA responded to greater than 687,000 roadside help calls throughout Independence Day week. Half of these required towing providers, and almost 30% of these calls have been for battery substitute and flat tires. Many of those points might be prevented with a pre-trip inspection. Visit AAA.com/AutoRepair to discover a AAA-Approved Auto Repair Facility close to you.

Slow Down Move Over: While on the street, AAA reminds drivers to Slow Down, Move Over when approaching emergency responders and stranded motorists on the aspect of the street. Nationwide, almost 350 persons are struck and killed whereas outdoors a disabled automobile annually. Drivers can save lives in the event that they make it a precedence to maneuver over for all autos on the roadside, no matter whether or not it’s a tow supplier with flashing lights or a driver of a disabled automobile with its hazard lights on.

Best/Worst Times to Drive

INRIX, a supplier of transportation knowledge and insights, says the second weekend of the vacation interval would be the busiest on the roads, beginning Thursday, July 2. But in sure metros, like Boston, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia, peak congestion is anticipated Saturday, June 27. Drivers seeking to keep away from the heaviest visitors ought to go away early within the day or think about touring on Monday or Tuesday.

The instances listed beneath are for the metro space’s time zone. For instance, Atlanta routes = ET and Los Angeles routes = PT.

Best and Worst Times To Travel By Car
Date	Worst Travel Time	Best Travel Time
Saturday, June 27	12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.	Before 10:00 a.m.
Sunday, June 28	2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.	Before 11:00 a.m.
Monday, June 29	2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.	Before 12:00 p.m.
Tuesday, June 30	3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.	Before 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday, July 1	12:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.	Before 12:00 p.m.
Thursday, July 2	2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.	Before 12:00 p.m.
Friday, July 3	12:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.	Before 11:00 a.m.
Saturday, July 4	10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.	After 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, July 5	12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.	Before 11:00 a.m.

Independence Day Holiday Travel Period

AAA’s Independence Day vacation journey interval spans 9 days and consists of two weekends. This yr, the dates vary from Saturday, June 27 to Sunday, July 5. Historically, this vacation interval included just one weekend. The expanded journey window was instituted beginning in 2024, with historic outcomes calculated again to 2019 utilizing the brand new nine-day interval.

Holiday Travel Forecast Methodology

In cooperation with AAA, S&P Global Market Intelligence (SPGMI) developed a novel methodology to forecast precise home journey volumes. The financial variables used to forecast journey for the present vacation are leveraged from SPGMI’s proprietary databases. These knowledge embrace macroeconomic drivers equivalent to employment, output, family web value, asset costs together with inventory indices, rates of interest, housing market indicators, and variables associated to journey and tourism, together with gasoline costs, airline journey, and resort stays. AAA and SPGMI have quantified vacation journey volumes going again to 2000.

Historical journey quantity estimates come from MMGY’s TRAVEL PERFORMANCE/MonitorSM. The PERFORMANCE/MonitorSM is a complete research measuring the journey conduct of U.S. residents. MMGY contacts over 50,000 U.S. households every month to acquire detailed journey knowledge, ensuing within the distinctive skill to estimate customer quantity and spending, determine tendencies, and forecast U.S. journey conduct, all after the journeys have been taken.

The journey forecast is reported in person-trips. In specific, AAA and SPGMI forecast the full U.S. vacation journey quantity and anticipated mode of transportation. The journey forecast introduced on this report was finalized the week of May 18, 2026.

Because AAA vacation forecasts concentrate on home leisure journey solely, comparisons to TSA passenger screening numbers shouldn’t be made. TSA knowledge consists of all passengers touring on each home and worldwide routes, whether or not touring for work or leisure. Additionally, TSA screens passengers every time they enter secured areas of the airport, due to this fact every one-way journey is counted as a passenger tally. AAA focuses on person-trips, which embrace the complete round-trip journey itinerary. As a consequence, direct comparisons of AAA forecast volumes and each day TSA screenings symbolize various factors.

INRIX Methodology

INRIX blends statistically grounded fashions with real-world street conduct to forecast journey situations on probably the most closely traveled routes throughout the U.S. throughout peak vacation intervals. INRIX’s vacation visitors forecast combines pre-selected high-impact journey routes, wealthy multi-source visitors knowledge, and a statistically strong linear regression mannequin to generate detailed, time-specific journey delay predictions. INRIX’s knowledge sources embrace a wide selection of vehicle-based and infrastructure-based inputs. These embrace linked automobile GPS knowledge, cellular apps and navigation providers, roadside sensors and cameras, and industrial fleet telematics. With expansive protection, excessive temporal decision, and historic context, this forecasting course of gives important insights for vacationers, media, and companies alike.

About AAA – The Auto Club Group

The Auto Club Group (ACG), named a 2026 Forbes Most Trusted Company in America, is the second-largest AAA membership in North America, with greater than 13 million members throughout 14 U.S. states and two U.S. territories. ACG and its associates present members with roadside help, insurance coverage merchandise, monetary providers, journey choices and extra. ACG is a part of the nationwide AAA federation, which serves greater than 66 million members throughout the United States and Canada. AAA’s mission is to guard and advance freedom of mobility and enhance visitors security. For extra info, obtain the AAA Mobile app, go to AAA.com, and comply with us on social media.

About S&P Global Market Intelligence

At S&P Global Market Intelligence, we perceive the significance of correct, deep and insightful info. Our group of specialists delivers unmatched insights and main knowledge and know-how options, partnering with prospects to increase their perspective, function with confidence, and make selections with conviction. S&P Global Market Intelligence is a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI). S&P Global is the world’s foremost supplier of credit score rankings, benchmarks, analytics and workflow options within the international capital, commodity and automotive markets. With each one in all our choices, we assist lots of the world’s main organizations navigate the financial panorama to allow them to plan for tomorrow, right now. For extra info, go to spglobal.com/marketintelligence.

About MMGY

MMGY Global is the world’s main built-in advertising and marketing agency specializing within the journey, hospitality, and life-style industries. With working manufacturers world wide, the award-winning group maintains a world communications apply in all advertising and marketing channels, serving lots of the world’s premier journey and tourism manufacturers. As an organization devoted to the journey trade, MMGY Global strives to create a linked, inclusive, and peaceable world by selling journey as a cultural bridge of understanding. For extra info, go to www.mmgyglobal.com.

About INRIX

Founded in 2004, INRIX pioneered clever mobility options by reworking large knowledge from linked units and autos into mobility insights. This revolutionary method enabled INRIX to turn into one of many main suppliers of knowledge and analytics into how individuals transfer. By empowering cities, companies, and other people with invaluable insights, INRIX helps to make the world smarter, safer, and greener. With companions and options spanning throughout all the mobility ecosystem, INRIX is uniquely positioned on the intersection of know-how and transportation – whether or not it’s maintaining street customers secure, enhancing visitors sign timing to cut back delay and greenhouse gasses, optimizing final mile supply, or serving to uncover market insights. Learn extra at INRIX.com .