The travel industry is back and stronger than before the pandemic

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- In the last two days, more than 71,000 people have flown out of Austin's airport, as Texans travel exceeds pre-pandemic numbers.

This is supposed to be a record-breaking week for travel over the Independence Day holiday.

AAA Texas predicts 5.6 million Texans are expected to travel from Saturday June 29th to Sunday July 7th, with 4.8 million expected to drive and 555,000 expected to fly.

"This is expected to be the busiest Fourth of July on record when it comes to travel volume not only here in Texas, but across the country as well. We're looking at 71 million Americans that will be traveling this Independence Day," says Daniel Armbruster with AAA Texas.

Breaking down the projected numbers, travel is up 5.2% from last year, and up 8.3% since 2019. Nationwide travel by car is up 9.5% since 2019, and by air it's up more than 12% since then.

"A lot of people are prioritizing experiences in their spending, and for a lot of folks that means travel. And so you know, if you had fallen asleep in February of 2020 and woken up now, and the pandemic had never happened, you really are seeing what travel would have looked like If COVID-19 hadn't taken such a hit to the industry," says Katy Nastro with Going.com.

And while overall travel is up, gas prices are down. The national average right now is $3.05 per gallon. A year ago, it was $3.55 a gallon.

But people are not only traveling by car or plane, they're also opting for cruises.

"A lot of people will be taking cruises. A lot of people will be traveling to the Pacific Northwest. Alaskan cruises are really popular this time of year. Also international travel. It's not just domestic travel where we see people taking trips," says Armbruster.

And while school's out for summer, you're going to see a lot more teen drivers on the road. In fact, the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day is the deadliest time frame for teen drivers.

"On average, about seven people are killed every day by teen drivers. If it's not the teen driver themselves, it's also other people on the road. So this affects everyone," says Armbruster.

Wherever you're going and however you're getting there, please do so safely.