AAA projects the number of Americans traveling this Labor Day weekend will be heavily impacted by when Labor Day falls on the calendar.
Approximately 39.1 million travelers are expected to take a trip of 50 miles or more from home, a decrease of 13.3 percent from 2008 when Labor Day travel was the highest this decade.
Labor Day fell on Sept. 1 last year, allowing for a long weekend trip before a new school year started in many regions of the country. This year, however, Labor Day is Sept. 7, after school already has started for many students.
Despite this year’s sizeable projected decline, AAA said it expects more Americans to travel this holiday than were projected to travel over this year’s Fourth of July holiday weekend, typically the busiest automobile travel holiday of the year. This year will be the third strongest weekend for Labor Day travel this decade. The second busiest year was 2003.
Car, plane or bus …
Four percent or 1.5 million Holiday travelers are expected to travel by airplane, AAA said. This will be the lowest number of trips by air this decade for the Labor Day holiday weekend.
Nearly 32.9 million travelers, or 84 percent, will hop into their cars for the holiday weekend and drive an average of 645 miles roundtrip. And, those traveling by other modes – which can include trains, cruises, buses, RVs, personal watercraft, motorcycles, or trips that use multiple modes of travel – are expected to account for 4.8 million or 12 percent of Labor Day holiday travelers.
Gas prices around the state are down almost a dollar from last Labor Day weekend. The average price of self-serve regular unleaded for Washington is $2.92 per gallon and $2.72 per gallon in Idaho. Nationally, gas prices are $2.61 per gallon for self-serve regular unleaded. For local gas prices go to fuelgaugereport.com.
Airfare, lodging costs will be lower
Labor Day travelers expect to spend approximately $968 per household this upcoming holiday weekend. Transportation and accommodations will account for 47 percent of trip spending, while food and beverage will absorb another 22 percent of the holiday budget. Shopping, entertainment and recreation will account for 27 percent of spending on average, and “other” accounts for four percent.
According to AAA’s Leisure Travel Index – a monitor of pricing in 20 popular cities across the US for hotel and car rentals, as well as 40 pairs of cities for air travel pricing – the lowest average published airfares over the Labor Day holiday weekend are expected to decrease 17 percent from last year. Car rental rates are up seven percent with consumers paying an average of $43 per day compared to $40 a year ago. Rates for AAA Three Diamond and Two Diamond lodgings are expected to be 12 percent less than last year with travelers spending an average of $137 per night for Three Diamond properties. Travelers planning to stay at AAA Two Diamond lodgings will pay an average of $101 per night.
Holiday forecast methodology
AAA’s projections are based on research conducted by IHS Global Insight. The Boston-based economic research and consulting firm teamed with AAA earlier this year as part of an agreement to jointly analyze travel trends during the major holidays. For purposes of this forecast the Labor Day holiday travel period is defined as trips that include travel of 50 miles or more from home in one direction during the period from Thursday, Sept. 3 to Monday Sept. 7. The complete AAA / IHS Global Insight 2009 Labor Day holiday forecast and methodology can be found at AAA.com/news.
