AAA: 31.5 Millions Americans to Travel This Labor Day Weekend - Patch.com
AAA is forecasting that 31.5 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home during the Labor Day holiday weekend, a 2.4 percent decrease from a year ago.
"AAA is projecting a decrease in the number of Labor Day travelers as some Americans react to recent economic uncertainty and increasing air fares," said Lloyd P. Albert, AAA Southern New England Senior Vice President of Public and Government Affairs. "While automobile travel is expected to increase slightly, if recent declines in gasoline prices continue through Labor Day, we could see an increase in last-minute holiday weekend travel."
Approximately 27.3 million people (87 percent of holiday travelers) plan to take to the nation's roadways this Labor Day holiday weekend. This is a slight increase of 0.5 percent from the 27.2 million Labor Day 2010 auto travelers, and a three percent increase in the share of total holiday travelers from last year's 84 percent.
Almost 2.5 million leisure travelers will fly during the Labor Day holiday weekend, a 1.9 percent decrease from 2010. Rising fuel costs, combined with steady air travel demand, have resulted in rising airfares over the past few months. Labor Day airfares are expected to be 13 percent higher than last year.
Gasoline prices are expected to have less impact on travel plans than they did during the Memorial Day and July Fourth holiday periods, when more than 40 percent said high gas prices would affect their travel plans. With prices down from their May peak, only 29 percent of Labor Day travelers said prices would affect their plans.
New England is expected to mirror the national trends, AAA said. The forecast is that Labor Day travel from the New England region will decline 2.3 percent compared to last year. Automobile travel from New England is expected to increase by 0.6 percent, while air travel should be down 1.9 percent. The forecast calls for 10.9 percent of the New England population to travel this upcoming Labor Day holiday period, which is higher than the 10 percent expected nationally.
AAA's projections are based on economic forecasting and research by IHS Global Insight. The Boston-based firm teamed with AAA beginning in 2009 to jointly analyze travel trends during major holidays. The complete AAA/IHS Global Insight 2011 Labor Day Holiday Travel Forecast can be found at www.AAA.com/news.
AAA Southern New England is a not-for-profit auto club with 40 offices in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut, providing more than 2.8 million local AAA members with travel, insurance, finance, and auto-related services.
02 Sep, 2011--
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