LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - 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.
Contact Information: Contact: Jeffrey Spring Office: 714-885-2333 Cell: 714-401-4221 Marie Montgomery Office: 714-885-2333