With air travel woes continuing and gasoline prices falling, a Labor Day travel survey shows Americans are hitting the road, rather than flying, for their final summer vacation.
Of the 64% of respondents who plan to travel for Labor Day weekend, 80% will drive to their destination, according to a survey conducted by Cars.com. Of those not planning to travel for the holiday, nearly a quarter cited high gas prices as the reason — significantly lower than the 42% of respondents who cited high gas prices as their reason for staying home over Fourth of July weekend.
“While gas prices are still too high for some, we are seeing pain at the pump ease just in time for the holiday weekend,” said Jenni Newman, Cars.com editor-in-chief.
The survey identified the following trends impacting 2022 Labor Day travel:
- Vacation carpooling continues to be a popular option, with 73% of travelers planning to drive with others and 47% attributing their carpool plans to a desire to save on fuel.
- 52% of travelers who typically prefer to fly are now going to drive due to high airline ticket prices and ongoing airline disruptions. Additionally, 30% of respondents planning to drive say they’ve changed their destinations and are now traveling farther.
- A growing number of electric and hybrid vehicles are on the road. Among the travelers planning to take a road trip over Labor Day weekend, 10% plan to take an EV and 26% plan to take a hybrid.
- 49% of Labor Day travelers plan to road-trip with kids, with 63% having one or two children in car seats.
