AAA is forecasting an increase in travel for the Labor Day holiday weekend, and the cost of travel will be slightly lower than a year ago.
Overall domestic travel in the U.S. is expected to be up 9 percent, and the cost to travel will be down 2 percent. Those lower costs this year are led by domestic airfare, which is 2 percent lower than last year, and rental cars, down 16 percent in price. Domestic hotels, however, are running 7 percent more expensive this Labor Day weekend compared to last year, according to AAA Travel bookings.
Of those who travel on holiday weekends, usually 85 to 90 percent will drive to their destinations. Road trips will rule this Labor Day weekend as well, with excursions to lakes, campgrounds or weekend getaways to nearby cities highlighting many Kansans’ plans. The price of gasoline in Kansas was averaging at $3.07 going into the holiday weekend, and that’s nearly 50 cents-per-gallon less than a year ago.
INRIX, a provider of transportation data and insights, said people traveling by car should avoid the afternoon and early evening hours of Thursday and Friday, August 29th and 30th, as those times will be the most congested. Drivers should hit the road in the morning unless they’re leaving on Saturday when the best time to travel by car is in the afternoon. Travelers returning on Sunday, September 1st and on Labor Day, September 2nd should leave as early as possible to avoid heavy traffic in the afternoon.
