A new survey from The Vacationer shows 132 Million American adults (51%) plan to travel for the Fourth of July this year. Of those traveling, 32% (83 million adults) will spend $500 or more on flights, hotels, tickets, gas, and other travel expenses.

The Vacationer polled 531 American adults over the age of 18 between June 1 and June 2, 2021. Results were analyzed by The Vacationer's Eric Jones, who is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Rowan College South Jersey.



Key Stats:

Holiday Travel is Back

With COVID-19 cases waning in the United States, more Americans feel comfortable traveling. In addition to the Fourth of July, participants were asked if they traveled on the following holidays.

• Memorial Day 2021 — 27.17%
• Easter 2021 — 15.09%
• Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa 2020 — 23.40%
• Thanksgiving 2020 — 22.26%
• Fourth of July 2020 — 14.72%

The number of people that will travel for the Fourth of July this year (51%) is nearly double the amount that traveled for Memorial Day. More people will travel for the Fourth of July this year than Memorial Day and Easter combined. Additionally, the expected number of people traveling this year will be 3.5 times more than for the Fourth of July last year.

Most Will Travel Primarily by Car

Of those who will travel on the Fourth of July, 11.26% will do it primarily by plane while 36.59% will do it primarily by car. The remaining 3.56% will do it by bus or train. Despite it only being 11.26%, nearly 29 million American adults will fly on a plane.

Many Will Revenge Travel This Summer

A separate survey from The Vacationer showed 68% will travel this summer and 25% will "Revenge Travel."

Some Will Spend Big

Participants were asked how much they plan on spending for potential Fourth of July travel.

• $0 — 48.59%
• $500 or Less — 19.31%
• $501 to $1,000 — 14.98%
• $1,001 to $1,500 — 8.17%
• $1,501 to $2,000 — 4.67%
• $2,000 or More — 4.28%

32.1% of American adults or nearly 83 million people will spend more than $500 for Fourth of July travel. Additionally, more than 17% of American adults or over 44 million people will spend more than $1,000.

BBQs and Fireworks are Back

Participants were asked what activities they will take part in on the Fourth of July.

• Parade — 16.27%
• BBQ or Cookout — 73.41%
• Fireworks — 61.31%
• Beach — 28.57%
• Lake — 22.22%
• Sporting Event — 5.95%
• Movie Theater — 8.73%

Almost 3 out of every 4 American adults or nearly 190 million people will attend a BBQ or cookout for the Fourth of July.

COVID-19 Concerns Linger

Almost 2 out of every 3 American adults still rate COVID-19 as "Slightly a Concern" or "A Big Concern" when planning for the Fourth of July. Despite more than 50% of Americans having at least one vaccine shot, it's obvious many people are still very cautious about the ongoing pandemic.