Labor Day Travel Dips for First Time in Years

WASHINGTON - Fewer Americans are traveling this Labor Day weekend, the AAA motor club says — the first decline for the summer's last hurrah in years, as families squeezed by the economy choose the backyard over the road trip.

AAA estimated that 34.4 million Americans would travel 50 miles or more this weekend, down about 1 percent from last year. Air travel is down more sharply, about 4.5 percent, as fares rise and flights are cut.

The one consolation for drivers is the pump: gasoline at $3.68 a gallon is down 40 cents from July, though still nearly a dollar above last Labor Day.

"People haven't stopped traveling. They've shortened it, bundled it and traded the flight for the minivan," a AAA spokesman said.

The travel industry has braced all summer for what it calls the "staycation" summer — a word the industry itself despises. Hotel occupancy is down nationally, and the theme parks have leaned on discounts to hold attendance.

The Gulf Coast, emptied by Gustav, faces a harder calculation: the lost Labor Day weekend is revenue that, for many Gulf businesses still rebuilding from 2005, will not be made up.

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Associated Press writers contributed to this report.

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