More in Southland getting away for the Fourth, but frugally

More than 2 million Southern California residents are expected to pack up the kids and gas up the car for the Fourth of July weekend, but they haven’t returned to their pre-recession spending habits for the holiday.

Although more people are leaving home for the holiday, the average vacationer will be driving instead of flying, traveling a shorter distance and spending less than last year, according to surveys and an economic analysis by the Automobile Club of Southern California.

For the upcoming Independence Day weekend, an estimated 2.57 million Southern California residents plan to leave home, a 19% increase over last year, according to the Auto Club.

Despite the substantial jump, the number still falls short of returning to the pre-recession levels of 2007 when 3.05 million Southern Californians traveled for the holiday. “We’ve still got a ways to go,” Auto Club spokeswoman Marie Montgomery said.

Travelers in the Western United States are expected to spend an average of $1,031 this weekend, down about 11% from the same holiday weekend last year, according to the Auto Club.

Like other Southern California vacationers, Claudia Echavarri, a management assistant from San Dimas, said she plans to stay local this summer, traveling to Lake Arrowhead and San Diego.

“I’m not going that far this summer,” she said. “I’m still traveling because I work all year and I want to take advantage of the kids’ breaks from school.”

The July 4 projections are the latest sign that Southern Californians are starting to hit the road again after a two-year decline in overall travel numbers and spending.

About a month ago, the Auto Club projected a modest 7.8% increase in travel among Southern Californians over the Memorial Day weekend. During that holiday period, spending among vacationers in the West was projected to rise less than 5%, according to online surveys and economic forecasts by the Auto Club.

Still, tourism experts say travelers remain careful about holiday spending.

During the Fourth of July weekend, 87% of Southland vacationers will travel by car, a 20% increase over last year, according to the Auto Club. But the distances are less. The average distance will be about 477 miles, compared with 611 miles last year, the Auto Club said.

“They are still cautious, somewhat, and are looking for opportunities to save,” said Joe Terzi, president and executive officer of the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Carolina Reyes, an office manager from Huntington Park, is among those wary travelers.

“The economy has finally caught up to me,” she said, describing how her home finances and the worries over a struggling economy are forcing her to cut back on summer travel plans. Instead of visiting Mexico’s Rosarito Beach and Ensenada several times this summer, she said she plans to make only one trip south of the border.

“It’s the economy,” she said during a lunch break in downtown Los Angeles.

The price of gasoline is expected to be almost the same as last year, at about $3.10 a gallon in most Southern California neighborhoods, according to the Auto Club.

Although the cost of driving is holding steady, the price to fly is starting to soar as demand for airline seats rises.

The average domestic airfare from Los Angeles area airports for this weekend is $548, a 20% increase over a year earlier, according to an analysis by travel website Travelocity.com.

For Southern California vacationers, the top destinations for this Fourth of July weekend are San Diego, Las Vegas, San Francisco, California’s Central Coast and the Grand Canyon.

hugo.martin@latimes.com