ATLANTA – More Georgians are expected to travel this Labor Day than did last year, according to AAA.
A total of 921,000 Georgians are expected to travel at least 50 miles from home – a 7.1 percent increase from a year ago. Nationwide, Labor Day travel is expected to increase 10 percent as 34.4 million Americans are expected to travel, AAA estimates.
“Labor Day typically marks the end of summer travel and we’re seeing more people deciding to take one last summer trip before the fall,” Brent Hubele, vice president of AAA Travel, said in a news release. “This is great news as travel projections are up overall, not only in the state and region, but in the country as a whole.”
Throughout the South Atlantic region, 5.9 million people are expected to travel – an increase of 7.7 percent from 2009.
“The impact of the oil spill has resulted in more travelers changing their destination from the Gulf to other areas rather than causing massive amounts of cancellations,” Hubele said. “The good news is the South Atlantic region is moving in a positive direction from last year with a healthy increase in Labor Day travel.”