Skift Take
If you find yourself stuck in traffic and frustrated that first weekend of September, blame the economic recovery.
With the economy on a modest upswing thanks to recovering home values, AAA Travel predicted that this year’s Labor Day weekend will see more Americans hit the road than it has in the past five years.
AAA’s forecast, prepared along with IHS Global Insight, cites the country’s improved employment situation as another cause for the spike in travel plans. Their report predicts that 34.1 million people will travel 50 miles or more within the country the weekend of Labor day, a 4.2 percent increase over the 32.7 million that did so last year.
“AAA is forecasting a lift in Labor Day travel this year due to the increasingly positive economic outlook and optimism in the housing market,” said AAA President and CEO Robert L. Darbelnet. “For many Americans, their home is also their biggest asset, as home prices improve in many parts of the country more families are feeling comfortable about traveling this Labor Day holiday.”
The full AAA forecast, embedded below:
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Photo credit: Traffic along I-75 near downtown Atlanta, Georgia Ellen Creager / Detroit Free Press/MCT