After a record-breaking summer of travel in the United States, AAA predicts that more Americans are traveling this year for the upcoming Labor Day holiday.
According to AAA booking data, overall domestic travel over Labor Day weekend is up 9% compared to last year, while the cost to travel domestically is down 2%. AAA says that some of the top Labor Day destinations include Seattle, Orlando, New York, Boston, Las Vegas, Denver, Chicago and San Francisco.
International travel is down 4% this year compared to last Labor Day, with the cost to travel internationally having gone up by 11%. According to AAA, “eight out of the top ten international destinations booked through AAA are European cities.”
AAA quoted data from INRIX, a provider of transportation data and insights, saying that the afternoon and early evening hours of Thursday and Friday will be the most congested for car travelers.
“Drivers should expect the most severe traffic jams before the holiday weekend as commuters mix with travelers,” said Bob Pishue, transportation analyst at INRIX. “Monitoring traffic apps, local news stations and 511 traveler information services may help drivers navigate around congestion and reduce driver frustration this Labor Day.”
Earlier this summer, an estimated seventy-one million people traveled 50 miles or more from their home over the Fourth of July week, according to estimates from AAA.
The number of travelers for the period, which included the entire July 4th week, plus the Saturday before and the Sunday after the holiday, saw a 5% increase compared to 2023 and an 8% increase over 2019, exceeding pre-pandemic levels.
For road trip insights to get ready for a high traffic weekend, check out Road Trip Revelations in the April Issue of NACS Magazine, and insights from the latest NACS Consumer Fuels Survey.