Labor Day Travel Volume Slips Slightly

LOS ANGELES, CA–(EMWNews – August 25, 2008) – The number of Labor Day travelers in

Southern California is expected to decline slightly, by about 1.4%,

according to the Automobile Club of Southern California.

More than 2.7 million Southland residents are expected to take trips during

this three-day weekend, and about 81 percent or 2.22 million of them are

expected to drive to their destinations — a decrease of about 1.8%.

Another 374,000 will take plane trips, which is a 3.4% decrease from last

year.

“Millions of Southern Californians still plan to travel over the holiday,”

said Auto Club spokesperson, Jeffrey Spring. “But high gas prices and the

state’s economy means more of them are taking trips closer to home.”

Statewide, more than 3.5 million residents are expected to drive to their

destinations and another 594,000 are expected to go by air, with another

200,000 going by other means for a total of 4.36 million.

Nationally, Labor Day travel is expected to inch down by nine-tenths of one

percent compared to 2007, with 34.38 million Americans expected to get away

over the holiday.

With the exception of Las Vegas, Southland residents plan to stay closer to

home this weekend. The top five Labor Day travel destinations, according

to a survey of the Auto Club’s AAA Travel agents, are:

1.  Las Vegas

2.  San Diego

3.  Central Coast

4.  Baja Mexico Cruises (departing from San Pedro)

5.  Northern California (including San Francisco, Monterey, Napa and

    Lake Tahoe)

Travelers will see gas prices that are close to levels seen at Memorial Day

when averages were poised to exceed $4 per gallon. Now, in most areas of

Southern California gas prices have again dropped below the $4 per gallon

mark.

Auto Club travel projections are based on a national survey conducted for

AAA by the Travel Industry Association of America.