Travel during Labor Day is expected to decrease this year as gasoline prices begin to creep upward while Tropical Storm Gustav approaches the Gulf following a 40-day respite in fuel prices, according to AAA Carolinas.
Trepidation about travel, however, probably comes from the economy and not the storms out at sea, AAA Carolinas spokesman Tom Crosby said.
“I don’t think that’s bothering many people,” he said.
Gustav likely is having more of an effect on gasoline prices, Crosby said.
“We had 40 straight days of a decrease (in gasoline prices), and then just yesterday it started to creep back up,” he said.
About 352,000 South Carolinians and 720,300 North Carolinians are expected to make round-trip drives of more than 100 miles during the holiday weekend, according to AAA. Those figures represent a 0.08 percent decrease from the number of 2007 Labor Day travelers.
Typically, Labor Day travel sees an increase of 2 percent to 3 percent, Crosby said.
South Carolina’s average cost of a gallon of gasoline reached $3.45 this week. Although the price had dropped 93 cents, or 11 percent, a gallon since July 4, it still remains 93 cents a gallon higher than during Labor Day 2007.
The national average for unleaded gasoline is $3.67 a gallon.
Air travel, meanwhile, is expected to drop 3.7 percent compared with Labor Day 2007, according to AAA.
AAA estimates 70,300 South Carolinians and 144,000 North Carolinians and will travel by air this Labor Day weekend.
Fares have increased about 15 percent despite the recently lower cost of oil and are likely to continue increasing throughout the year, according to a press release from AAA.
Crosby agreed that new surcharges, including those for travelers checking baggage, are also discouraging people from taking flights this year.
Nonetheless, people are still expected to travel great distances this Labor Day. About 307,900 South Carolina residents plan to travel more than 250 miles round trip this weekend, while 211,200 plan to travel more than 500 miles round trip, according to AAA.
This year’s holiday travel figures are based on research by the Travel Industry Association, which has conducted surveys and developed a forecast model while performing special research for AAA.
The association collected its data through an online survey of more than 2,000 adults nationwide as well as an additional 6,500 U.S. residents surveyed at the nation’s top 10 travel origins, according to AAA.
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