They say times are tough, yet the number of people traveling abroad during Golden Week this year is apparently the highest ever.

Literal

Recession [quotative-だと] saying-while, this-year's Golden-Week [at-に] overseas-travel do people [topic-は] past-highest apparently.

~と言いつつ = 'while saying X' — highlights the contradiction. ゴールデンウイーク is Japan's week of consecutive holidays in late April-early May. 過去最高 = 'all-time high.' ~らしい marks hearsay.