Busy Labor Day Travel Expected

Busy Labor Day travel expected

The number of Americans expecting to travel during the three-day weekend associated with Labor Day will rise in double-digits compared to a year ago, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).

The organization expects 34.4 million Americans to travel at least 50 miles from their homes, up from just 31.3 million who did so in 2009. That is a 9.9 percent increase which is remarkable in the context of the further weakening of the economy based on latest data.

Labor Day is on Monday, September 6 this year, and Thursday, September 2 will kick off the last summer long weekend of the year.

“While media reports on the state of the U.S. economy are mixed, many Americans are still interested in taking one more trip as the summer travel season comes to a close,” said Glen MacDonell, director of AAA Travel Services. “It is encouraging to see more Americans planning to travel to visit family, friends, and exciting vacation destinations.”

“AAA travel agents are continuing to report strong increases on the number of travelers making advanced reservations. Hotel, car and vacation package reservations for the upcoming Labor Day weekend are up over ten percent compared to last year,” MacDonell added.

The driving organization says that despite worsening unemployment data, a hike in GDP and a dip in consumer debt seems to be spurring the increase in Labor Day travel.

A report released by the AAA says that, “Trips by automobile are expected to increase in popularity with 91 percent of travelers, or 31.4 million people, reaching their destinations by driving. This is an increase of 10.3 percent from last Labor Day when 28.5 million travelers went by motor vehicle.”

Barring hurricane activity in the Gulf region, the AAA expects the average price of regular gasoline to be between $2.65 and $2.75 per gallon for the upcoming Labor Day weekend.

Posted by Sophia Andrews on Sunday August 29 2010, 10:07 AM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Travel. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0