The economy continues to put a damper on holiday travel.
According to
AAA, about 37 million Americans plan to head out of town Fourth of July weekend. That's down 1.9 percent from 2008 and about 12 percent from 2007.
AAA points to the unstable economy but says gas prices, which have started to rise again recently, could be to blame. Even though prices in the metro are down about $1.55 from this time last year, they are still higher than they were about two months ago.
Air travel, however, is expected to spike this holiday weekend. AAA says about 5 percent more people will fly this year over last. The reason? Airlines and hotels are offering bargains.
Air fare is down 16 percent and hotel prices are down 12 percent.
People in the metro are all over the map when it comes to holiday plans. Some are taking advantage of the deals and heading to Las Vegas.
Others like Ilene Rafuse and her boyfriend Andrew Tate are heading out to Lake of the Ozarks. They're not bothered by today's gas prices and plan to spend about $500 for the weekend.
And then there are those like school teacher Jacob Poore who say they're sticking around this weekend.
"Money is always a factor. I'm a broke, recent grad and teacher, so money is always a factor," said Poore.
