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AAA projects 857,000 Tennesseans will take a trip of 50 or more miles from home this Fourth of July weekend, and tourist destinations in Townsend are hoping for a surge of visitors.

"Obviously the trend for tourism has been down for all of us. Just like every other business out there, we've been taking a beating," said Herb Handly, executive vice president of tourism at the Smoky Mountain Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"People who don't have jobs basically are not traveling, and Tennessee has 10 percent unemployment," he said.

AAA expects a 4 percent drop in July Fourth holiday travel by Tennesseans compared to last year, but 37 percent higher than in 2007. Most Tennesseans will travel by automobile, with AAA projecting 776,000 trips -- also a decrease of 4 percent from 2008 but a 44 percent increase from 2007.

"We hope for the best in June and July; that's peak time for us. But from what I'm hearing from other places, travel is projected to be lower," Handly said.

The upside for Townsend is that the economic impact on tourism has been limited.

"As we compare our trend to other much bigger destinations around us, we are doing much better. But at the same time we want every overnight stay we can get," he said.

"We still have a lot of great places for people to stay and are relatively inexpensive. Townsend is still a great destination."

For the second consecutive year the city of Townsend, Highland Manor and BankEast will sponsor an Independence Day fireworks show between the Townsend Visitors Center and Highland Manor Inn. Music will start at 8:30 p.m. Saturday with fireworks conducted by the Townsend Volunteer Fire Department at 9:45 p.m.

Advice to visitors: arrive an hour early and bring lawn chairs.

While the recent rise in gasoline prices may be causing some travelers to limit or abbreviate their holiday plans, its effect on overall vacation costs remains minimal, AAA said.

Gas prices hikes can help Townsend

And for Townsend, pump price hikes can even be a plus because of Blount County's central location in the eastern U.S., according to Handly.

"High gas prices tend to help us. They don't tend to affect us as much as farther away destinations. If people are traveling, they are not going as far."

The average price for a gallon of gas in the Maryville area was $2.433 Wednesday afternoon, according to AAA. That compares to $2.448 last week, $2.342 last month and $3.908 last year. The national average Wednesday was $2.630.

Nationally, 38 percent of travelers will stay relatively close to home, with expected round trips of under 250 miles. One third of weekend travelers will log between 250 and 700 miles, and 28 percent will travel over 700 miles round-trip, AAA projects.