Valley airports, hotels see travel rush ahead of 4th of July

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — If you're traveling for the 4th of July you are not alone. The American Automobile Association, better known as AAA, predicts a record number of people will be traveling by plane or by car this holiday weekend.

Airports are expecting a huge number of travelers in the coming days. One reason is ticket prices are down 18% from last year, according to the travel site Hopper.

From Thursday to Sunday the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screened more than 11.3 million people, a 5.3% increase from last year.

Nicolas Mirman, Commercial Director for Valley International Airport in Harlingen said, "We are seeing a record high number of visitors this year. It is a 10% increase in traffic from last year."

When it comes to hotels, the Comfort Suites Beachside on South Padre Island said they are fully booked, "We are sold out as compared to last year," said General Manager Desiree Raymond. "It's busy, and some customers have booked rooms just to see a hurricane."

There could be a record number of drivers on the roads as well. AAA predicts more than 60 million people will drive 50 miles or more for the holiday.

Aixa Diaz with AAA said, "What we're seeing is that people are going to go on their trips no matter what. Especially this summer, we're seeing the numbers even bigger than last summer, which was also a record-setting summer."

AAA added the worst traffic in metro areas will be on Wednesday, July 3 through Sunday, July 7 as travelers head home.