Tourism forecast sees a busy Fourth

More than 770,000 visitors are expected to converge on New Hampshire during the four-day period between July 1 and July 4, according to a forecast prepared for the New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism Development by the Institute for New Hampshire Studies.

It’s expected that the visitors will spend more than $105 million during the busiest travel weekend in New Hampshire, the forecast says.

AAA predicts record travel for the upcoming Fourth of July holiday weekend, estimating that 40.7 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home this holiday — a 1.2 percent increase from the 40.2 million who traveled last year.

Most of New Hampshire’s visitors will be from New England and the Mid-Atlantic states, according to the tourism agency. Canadian and European visitors are anticipated to be visiting New Hampshire at higher levels than last year.

Resorts, hotels, motels and campgrounds should see a 2 percent increase in average occupancy rates for the weekend compared with last year, according to the forecast. – JEFF FEINGOLD