AAA's Robert Sinclair joins the AccuWeather Network to provide the latest holiday travel outlook for Labor Day including trends, popular destinations and cost while offering travel safety tips.
00:00I appreciate you joining us here with Labor Day upon us.
00:03It's the last big travel weekend of summer and many Americans are trying to get in one final getaway.
00:08All right, joining us, and I have to say, I'm going to speak for both of us, one of our faves.
00:12Oh, yeah, top five.
00:13Not even close.
00:13Top five.
00:14Well, one of our faves.
00:15Yeah.
00:15Top five, easily.
00:17Robert Sinclair, Jr., Senior Manager of Public Affairs at AAA Northeast.
00:23Robert, already good, always good to see you, sir.
00:27Good to see you.
00:27Thank you very much for having me.
00:29You make me feel real good.
00:31Well, that's why we love having you.
00:33And let's get right into it.
00:34What are the most popular destinations this Labor Day weekend?
00:39Well, interestingly, the most popular destinations, to give you the list quickly,
00:44Seattle, Orlando, New York, Boston, Anchorage, Chicago, Atlanta, Denver, Miami, Las Vegas.
00:49Now, two of those domestic top ten destinations and one of the international top ten destinations
00:55have to do with a phenomenon that is just sweeping the country, and that's cruising.
01:01Seattle and Anchorage are popular on the domestic side, and Vancouver is most popular on the
01:07international side.
01:09Seattle and Vancouver are jumping off points for cruises to Alaska, and when people are cruising
01:14to Alaska, they go to Anchorage.
01:16And cruising is just through the roof.
01:18Going back to 2022, we saw a total of 11.9 million cruise that year.
01:24This year, we're anticipating more than 19 million plus will be cruising.
01:29It's just a very popular thing to do.
01:32Pay one price.
01:33You know what you're going to pay up front, and you don't have to worry about anything
01:37else.
01:38Just send the gangplank, and there are cruise ports just about on every coast, East Coast,
01:43Gulf Coast, West Coast.
01:45So most population centers are near the coast, so it's a very easy thing to do for people to
01:50take a quick cruise.
01:51You answered my question.
01:52You probably heard me kind of whisper it.
01:54I was thinking, why all of a sudden now are cruises so popular?
01:58But you answered it.
01:59All right, let's talk about flights and hotel prices compared to this time last year.
02:04Both lower, significantly lower, and it's demand.
02:10Airline travel is still very strong.
02:13In fact, TSA is setting records for those who will be screened.
02:16I think the busiest days have been since May, and that's ever.
02:21And hotel rates and rental car rates are both lower.
02:24We are one of the largest leisure travel agencies in the country, and we talk to counselors.
02:30They say, well, maybe not that many international travelers are coming to the U.S. this year,
02:37as in years gone by, and that's freed up a lot of hotel space.
02:41Considering Las Vegas, there are more than 150,000 hotel rooms to be filled.
02:46So that's a very popular destination.
02:48You can probably get some good deals if you go there.
02:51All right.
02:51What should drivers expect, though, when it comes to the all-important gas prices?
02:58Gasoline prices are significantly lower.
03:00We're at $320 per gallon now.
03:03Last year, we were at $335.
03:05We've seen a little bit of a bump in prices in the last week or so.
03:08So I think that's the retailers are anticipating a lot of cars on the road for the holiday, the last hurrah of the summer.
03:17But gasoline prices for a significant part of the population are still a little difficult.
03:21We've done surveys where 40% of drivers say $3 a gallon is the pain point for the price of gasoline,
03:28that they'd have to cut back in some other area of the family budget to pay for gasoline at that price.
03:33And we are over that price.
03:34So while a lot of people will be taking a driving trip for the holiday, I think the economy is still a little tough for a significant portion.
03:43They'll probably be staying closer to home, the so-called staycation, or traveling very few miles for doing something with the family at the last hurrah.
03:52But a lot of the kids have already gone off to college.
03:54So I think that affects things as well.
03:57I guess mom and dad are coming to visit you at college then.
03:59All right.
04:00This weekend, when are the best and worst times to be out on the roads?
04:04Well, Saturday is going to be real tough, practically all day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
04:11It's going to be the worst time to be on the road.
04:13Just about for the holidays, we tell people to get out before 1 p.m. or noon.
04:19That would count for Thursday and Friday.
04:22The best travel time on Saturday would be 6 to 10 a.m., Sunday before 11 a.m., Monday before noon.
04:29So keep those things in mind.
04:31And you have to remember that if you're in one of those big cities that is among the popular destinations, that you'll have a lot of people coming to your destination, going from your destination, and traveling through where you are.
04:44So you have to keep those things in mind.
04:46The earlier the start, the better.
04:48Go to sleep early.
04:49Wake up early and get a good head start.
04:52If your destination is 200 miles away, it takes about four hours, usually.
04:57So if you leave at 6 a.m., you'll be there at 10 a.m.
04:59Plenty of time to enjoy yourself.
05:01I love it.
05:02So well said.
05:03That's why you're one of our favorites, Robert Sinclair, Jr., Senior Manager of Public Affairs at AAA Northeast.
05:08Thanks again for joining us on AccuWeather Early and hope you have some good plans for this Labor Day holiday.
Be the first to comment