ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The 4th of July holiday week is here and it will be the busiest Independence Day for travelers, according to AAA.
Many people are taking a few extra days off before and after the holiday which lands on a Wednesday this year.
Businesses owners in St.Augustine are as a result, seeing a boom.
The visitor center in St. Augustine is ready to greet visitors for the fourth. Some Airbnb's and bed-and-breakfasts owners say the uptick in business is expected to continue all week long.
Joe Finnegan, owns the St. Francis Inn and the Casa de Suenos. Both bed-and-breakfast inns are booked all week.
“The week of July fourth looks very strong, downtown, and I expect it's equally as strong at the beach,” said Finnegan. His businesses have benefited from the holiday falling on a Wednesday.
“With the fourth falling right in the middle of the week, I think that's actually helped bring out a strong occupancy for like nine days. The weekend before the week and weekend is really quite strong,” explained Finnegan.
While May and June were not as busy for the business, this week will help until things get busy again in the fall.
Local Airbnb’s are just as booked for the holiday. There were only 21 available properties the day before the fourth. That’s compared to the usual 300 plus vacancies in the city of St. Augustine.
Finnegan thinks the good weather is encouraging people to get out travel.
Another reason for the uptick in travel this year is airfare. Prices are 9% lower than last year- marking the lowest rates in five years for Independence Day travel.