AAA: Cars are king as summer travel sees first decline since 2009

For the first time in more than a decade, growth in summer travel has ground to a halt.

According to the latest projections from the AAA, Americans will take more than 700 million trips this summer, but that number is down nearly 15 percent, or 120 million trips, from last July through September. It's the first decline in summer travel since 2009.

Airline travel is expected to see a nosedive of 74 percent because of coronavirus fears, while cruises, buses and train travel will be further sunk by about 86 percent.

That's where the good old American road trip comes in. Nationally, road-tripping will only decrease by 3 percent, so 683 million summer road trips will still take place. AAA reports that 97 percent of travelers list cars as the favored mode of transportation.

“Popular destinations and even some states may raise or lower their restrictions at the drop of a hat. But driving gives people a chance to change their travel plans at the last minute,” said AAA Idaho spokesman Matthew Conde.

This falls in the favor of North Idaho, where people love to drive through the beautiful scenery and visit all the neat towns along the way.

"We have a strong 'drive market' and have focused our marketing efforts on this for years," Mark Robitaille, executive director of the Coeur d’Alene Convention and Visitors Bureau, said Friday. "While we had expanded our marketing efforts the past couple years toward direct-flight markets into Spokane, we have tailored that back to focus on our drive market."

Local tourism and travel leaders are optimistic that North Idaho will remain a top destination, especially as road-trippers eye the Northwest for those weekend getaways and family vacations.

"Northern Idaho, geographically, couldn't be placed in a more perfect location and setting," said Kayoko Magnus, associate director of sales for The Coeur d'Alene Resort, and Region 1 chair of the Idaho Travel Council. "We have always had a significant number of visitors, not only from Canada but our surrounding states as well. With air travel being restricted, we're starting to see quite a bit more from our neighbors within driving distance and locally."

She said there's not a huge differentiation between visitors who fly and those who drive when it comes to keeping the economy going.

"All businesses benefit from tourism travel — lodging, restaurants, shops, parks, etc.," she said.

AAA Travel data shows that when top destinations, including Las Vegas, Orlando and New York, were shut down earlier this year, bookings shifted to smaller destinations. As those top destinations begin to open, they are once again the top hotel destinations, though advance bookings in general are nearly 25 percent less than this time last year.

Locally, Magnus said bookings have picked up significantly on the weekends, but "group travel and catering to large groups coming a halt has had a negative effect on everyone's numbers."

"We are definitely seeing an increase in travel by those within the region," she said. "People are looking for locations with more outdoor activities and space to social distance. The variety of options we have here in Northern Idaho makes us a very popular location."