For 2011's Labor Day travel forecast, click this link: Labor Day Holiday Travel Forecast

AAA projects the number of Americans traveling on vacation Labor Day weekend will be down from last year, impacted by when Labor Day falls on the calendar. Approximately 39.1 million travelers are expected to take a trip of 50 miles or more away from home, a decrease of 13.3 percent from 2008 when Labor Day travel was the highest this decade with 45.1 million Americans traveling. Labor Day fell on Sept. 1 last year, allowing for a long weekend trip before a new school year started in many regions of the country. 

This year, however, Labor Day is Sept. 7, when the school year has already started for many children. AAA’s projections are based on research conducted by IHS Global Insight. The Boston-based economic research and consulting firm teamed with AAA earlier this year as part of an agreement to jointly analyze travel trends during the major holidays.  AAA has been reporting on holiday travel trends for more than two decades.  For purposes of this forecast the Labor Day holiday travel period is defined as trips that include travel of 50 miles or more from home in one direction during the period from Thursday, Sept. 3 to Monday Sept. 7. The complete AAA / IHS Global Insight 2009 Labor Day holiday forecast can be found at AAA.com/news.