By Jessica Mathews/News@whmi.com


With the 4th of July weekend here and the summer travel season finally kicking off, many Livingston County residents and others across the state will be getting out of town.

AAA Michigan is forecasting that people will take around 700 million trips this summer. That number is still down nearly 15% compared to the same time last year according to AAA Michigan Spokeswoman Adrienne Woodland. She says their travel experts have begun to see positive trends in travel as hotel and rental car bookings have been gradually increasing since April. However, Woodland says they noticed the share of travelers making plans 48 hours to seven days before departure is significantly higher than normal. Woodland says many people are arranging last minute trips and taking more of a wait-and-see approach, adding car trips allow for last minute bookings but people can also shift things if necessary. She tells WHMI people are also more are likely to book long weekend getaways than extended vacations because with COVID-19, things change fairly quickly.

While some travel restrictions have lifted, social distancing is still recommended and car trips remain the favored mode of transportation for summer travel. AAA Michigan says 97% of summer trips will be road trips. Travelers also shouldn’t encounter as much traffic congestion as typically seen in summer. Woodland says gas prices are on the upward trend in Michigan and are 6 or 7 cents up compared to this time last week but still remain almost 60-cents less than the same time last year.

For those who aren’t hitting the road to travel, Woodland says trends show some locations that were typically popular destinations have changed. When it comes to TripTik destination searches, Orlando, Florida dropped from the top searched city destination to number eight while Denver, Colorado made the biggest climb from number 10 to number one.

Woodland says anyone traveling is encouraged to utilize AAA TripTik for planning purposes and route mapping. It features paper and digital maps as well as COVID-19 Travel Restriction updates. Woodland says travelers should also keep in mind that some national parks and attractions have capacity limits, meaning arrangements must be made in advance. Woodland says AAA recommends that anyone traveling pack face coverings, gloves, cleaning supplies and hand sanitizer but also take all necessary travel documentation including health insurance cards.