Agency: Fewer long-distance travelers likely - Standard Speaker

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The number of Northeastern Pennsylvania residents who will travel 50 miles or more from home this Labor Day weekend is expected to decrease by 2.3 percent from last year, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.

The decline is a result of higher airfares, not gasoline prices, said AAA spokeswoman Jenny M. Robinson.

According to AAA, the average airfare is $202, up 13 percent from last year.

Gas prices are an average of $3.58 per gallon in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area, down 13 cents from $3.71 a gallon a month ago, up 97 cents from the average of $2.61 a gallon year ago yet $1.02 less than the all-time record high of $4.06 set in July 2008.

Travel over Labor Day weekend, summer's third and final extended holiday weekend, is expected to mirror national declines. AAA projects more than 41,000 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area residents will travel 50 miles or more from home this Labor Day holiday.

However, the survey was completed a month ago, before Hurricane Irene, and it's difficult to say how that will impact travel, Robinson said.

"Hurricane Irene is a wild card," she said. "Even before the hurricane, we were predicting a decrease in travel. After the hurricane, who knows. There may be quite a few people who may have to stay home and take care of hurricane damage that would affect their budget for Labor Day travel."

Gas prices, which are down nearly 10 percent from their May peak, will have less of an impact on Labor Day holiday travelers than they had on Memorial Day and Fourth of July holiday travelers, during which 42 percent and 44 percent of travelers, respectively, said gas prices would impact travel plans. To the contrary, 71 percent of intended Labor Day holiday travelers said gas prices would not impact their travel plans.

For the remaining 29 percent who said gas prices would impact their travel plans, they plan to economize in other areas, change their mode of transportation and/or take shorter trips.

Travel by automobile continues to be the most popular mode of transportation for Labor Day holiday travelers, with 86 percent of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area travelers reaching their destination by driving. This is a decrease of less than 1 percent from last Labor Day.

Nationally, AAA projects 31.5 million Americans will travel for the 2011 Labor Day holiday weekend, a 2.4 percent decline from the 32.3 million people who traveled a year ago.

dallabaugh@citizensvoice.com