AAA Public Affairs Manager
Nearly 1.8 Million New Englanders to Travel for Labor Day; Most in Six Years
Highlights from AAA’s Labor Day 2014 Travel Forecast include:
- More than 1.5 million New Englanders plan to travel by automobile this weekend, an increase of 1.7 percent compared to last year. Eighty-six percent of holiday travelers are expected to get to their destination by car.
- Regional holiday air travel is projected to increase 1.9 percent to 127,000.
- Historically, when Labor Day weekend begins in August, more people have traveled.
- Rates at AAA Three Diamond hotels are 6 percent higher than last year, while airfares are up 2 percent and rental car rates are flat.
Gasoline Prices
The Connecticut average for regular unleaded stands at $3.74 per gallon today—16 cents less expensive than a month ago. The Nutmeg State has the seventh most expensive average price in the country—down from the third most expensive entering Labor Day weekend 2013, when the statewide average was $3.91. The easing of global crude oil prices has been a driving factor behind falling retail gasoline prices.
The National Picture
New England travel forecast numbers are in line with projections for the nation as a whole. AAA projects 34.7 million Americans will travel for Labor Day, a 1.3 percent increase from 2013. Nationally, auto travel is expected to climb 1.4 percent, while air travel is expected to increase 1 percent.