U.S. Labor Day Travel Likely to Drop, Continuing Summer Slide

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U.S. Labor Day Travel Likely to Drop, Continuing Summer Slide

By Angela Greiling Keane

Aug. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Labor Day weekend holiday travel probably will decline as the U.S. summer driving season comes to a close the way it began, curbed by high gasoline prices and a weak economy.

The number of people taking trips of at least 50 miles from home today through Sept. 1 will fall 0.9 percent from a year earlier to 34.4 million, according to AAA, the largest U.S. motorist group. That would make Labor Day the third straight U.S. holiday with a decline.

Gasoline averaged $3.66 a gallon on Aug. 27, up 33 percent from a year earlier, according to AAA. The drop from the July 15 record of $4.11 wasn't enough to spur Labor Day travel. Falling home values and tighter credit also are damping consumer spending.

``Some of it is hangover from the gasoline prices,'' said Kenneth McGill, the Eddystone, Pennsylvania-based managing director for travel and tourism at consulting firm Global Insight. Changes in consumer behavior ``started earlier in the summer when prices were north of $4 a gallon,'' he said.

``I usually like to go to the beach for an end-of-summer hurrah,'' said Lisa Cannon, 45, of Washington. This year, because of construction delays on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and the cost of gasoline, the owner of an interior-decorating business turned down an invitation to visit her parents in New Jersey with her 3-year-old daughter.

First Decline Since 2006

The 320,000 fewer people traveling for the Labor Day weekend would be the first such decline since 2006, AAA said. The group expects about 28.6 million travelers, or 83 percent of the total, to go by automobile, with a 1.1 percent drop for the category. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601093&sid=aYK6Y_t9XkOc&refer=home