Fewer traveling during holiday weekend

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - The 4th of July holiday weekend is just days away and early forecasts show fewer people will be traveling this year.

Experts are pointing to the weakened economy and higher gas prices over the recent weeks. AAA says all in all travel will be down almost 2% this year.

They say last year almost 38 million people traveled 50 or more miles away from their home. That’s more than a 10% drop off from 2007.

This year they are expecting about 37 million travelers to be hitting the roads and sky. They say people traveling by car will decrease almost 3%.

AAA says the amount of people flying will account for 5% of the July 4th travel, an increase of about 4.9% from last year. "We know that for example even though that July 4th tends to lend itself to auto travel, more people are choosing to fly this year simply because they're finding great rates, and of course we believe that gasoline price raises are helping to influence people to fly as well, " said Greg Seiter with AAA.

AAA says airfare is down about 16% this year. On average, passengers will pay about $169 a ticket. Car rentals are up about 5% this year.