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Many families can’t go away because children already started school, expert says.
The poor economy has been blamed for low travel numbers during this year’s major holidays, but the expected decrease for Labor Day weekend is being pinned on the calendar.
“The calendar is the main factor affecting Labor Day weekend travel this year. Traditionally, the weekend is the last summer hurrah, but this year is different.” said Catherine L. Rossi, spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic.
“Families with school-aged children are very much already in back-to-school mode. More people will stay home this year,” she said.
Travel this weekend in the Wilkes-Barre region is projected to be down 14.3 percent, slightly more than the national average of 13.3 percent. AAA predicts nearly 48,000 area residents will travel 50 miles or farther this weekend. Eighty-four percent of them will travel by car.
While Labor Day travel is expected to be much higher than July 4th and Memorial Day travel this year, it’ll still lower than last year’s Labor Day travel figures.
Rossi said that has a lot to do with the late date for Labor Day this year, but also because Labor Day 2008 saw such a high travel rate.
Last Labor Day was more heavily traveled than projected because there was significant “pent-up demand.” Record-high gas prices that kept many people closer to home last summer were falling, Rossi said.
The low travel numbers are not unique to Northeast Pennsylvania. In fact, AAA reports, holiday travel is estimated to be down in every region of the country and for every mode of travel compared to last year.
Even though gasoline is about $1 cheaper per gallon now than a year ago, many families got their end-of-summer travel in before school students began a new year.
Wilkes-Barre region travelers will travel the lowest distance from home nationally, AAA said. Travelers from Wilkes-Barre area and the Mid-Atlantic region as a whole will trek an average roundtrip distance of 493 miles – 152 fewer miles than the national average. More than 50 percent of Wilkes-Barre area travelers will go on a roundtrip of 250 miles or less.