Whether it’s $5 a gallon gasoline or other inflationary costs, AAA doesn’t expect any record July Fourth Holiday travel in Oklahoma. But it will still be high.
The travel group projects more than 510,000 Oklahoma will travel a distance of 50 miles or more over the Independent Day Holiday. Of that number, more than 80% of travelers – or more than 410,000 Oklahomans – will be hitting the roads and highways for the holiday, up a mere 0.3% compared to last year despite record gas prices.
AAA reported that air travel and other modes of travel transportation (trains, cruises and buses) are up significantly compared to last year. Air travel will see a 2.5% increase over last year, with nearly 68,000 Oklahomans taking to the skies this Independence Day weekend.
“The volume of travelers we expect to see over Independence Day is a definite sign that summer travel is kicking into high gear,” said Leslie Gamble, AAA Oklahoma spokesperson. “Earlier this year, we started seeing the demand for travel increase and it’s not tapering off. People are ready for a break and despite things costing more, they are finding ways to still take that much needed vacation.”
2022 Projected Independence Day Holiday Travelers – Oklahoma
| NUMBER OF TRAVELERS |
Total Population |
2022 Travelers |
Percent of population traveling |
Percent change vs. 2021 |
||||
| Oklahoma TOTAL
Auto, Air & Other |
3,986,639* |
510,290 |
12.8% |
+2.8% |
||||
| Oklahoma Auto |
80.5% of people travel by car |
410,624 |
10.3% |
+0.3% |
||||
| Oklahoma Air |
13.3% of people travel by air |
67,773 |
1.7% |
+2.5% |
||||
| Oklahoma Other
(train, bus, cruise, etc.) |
5.5% of people travel by other |
27,906 |
0.7% |
+168.2% |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| National TOTAL |
329.5 million* |
47.9 million |
14.5% |
+3.7% |
||||
| National Auto
|
88% of people travel by car |
42.0 million |
12.7% |
+0.4% |
||||
| National Air
|
7% of people travel by air |
3.6 million |
1.1% |
+1.5% |
||||
| National Other
(train bus, cruise, etc.) |
5% of people travel by other |
2.4 million |
0.7% |
+167.9% |
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