Official End of Summer Vacations

Labor Day has traditionally been regarded as the last long weekend to squeeze in any last-minute summer escapes. Yet, many are closely monitoring the Weather Channel to see if Hurricane Gustav and Tropical Storm Hanna will effect travel plans and spike gas prices to an all time high again…just in time for Labor Day celebrations. Despite the threatening storms, people still treasure their last summertime flings!

“We all look forward to that last trip to the beach or to a final summer visit to see friends or relatives,” Roger Dow, Travel Industry Association’s (TIA) president and CEO says. “But what most of us don’t know is that the benefits of our summer travel will stay with us long after we’ve returned home.”

Dow cited decades of research on how individuals and families benefit from traveling in the areas of health, education, career success, relationship-building and creativity.

“The evidence is overwhelming that when you take a trip, the benefits are everywhere,” Dow said. “Despite the fact that Americans get less vacation time than in any country in the industrialized world, because of the personal benefits gained, we can’t afford not to travel.”

Among the findings of various studies* conducted during the past few decades:

-Travelers rate their overall health one full point higher (on a scale of 1 to 5) while on vacation. They also get three times more deep sleep after their vacation and sleep almost 20 minutes longer after their vacation.

-An annual vacation can cut a person’s risk of heart attack by 50 percent.

-Women who take more vacations are more satisfied with their marriages.

-More than half of employed Americans say they come back feeling reconnected with their family after vacation (53%).

-Three out of four executives believe that vacations are necessary for them to prevent burnout (78%) or that vacations improve their personal job performance (75%).

-Travelers experience a 25% increase in performance on vigilance tests after returning from vacation - travelers 45 or older show a 50% increase in performance.

-Two out of three executives believe that vacations improve their creativity (68%).

There are some who intend to not have Labor Day be the end of 2008 travels.

TripAdvisor® just released the results of its annual fall travel survey revealing that 82 percent of U.S. respondents plan to travel for leisure this autumn, up from 70 percent who said they took pleasure trips last fall. Twenty-six percent of U.S. respondents said they will travel more this autumn than last, while 49 percent intend to travel the same amount as one year ago. Nearly 60 percent percent of travelers said they plan to fly this autumn for their leisure travel, while close to 50 percent plan to drive.

According to the TripAdvisor survey results, 31 percent of U.S. respondents are planning to travel on Labor Day weekend, nearly equal to the 30 percent who said they traveled the same timeframe in 2007. Those who are traveling Labor Day weekend are doing so via automobile (67%) compared to just over a quarter (26%) of people who plan to fly.

In comparison, AAA projects a slight decrease of 0.9 percent in the number of Americans traveling during the Labor Day holiday weekend, representing the first decline in Labor Day travel since 2006. However, even with a slight predicted decrease nearly 34.38 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home this holiday weekend.

“More travelers concerned about the economy, gasoline prices and rising airfares are opting to travel by train, bus, motorcycle and cruise ship to their holiday weekend destinations,” said AAA President and CEO Robert L. Darbelnet. “This trend points to a desire on the part of the American public to seek alternatives to flying and driving to enjoy the traditional end of summer vacation.”

According to the AAA report, more than 83 percent of all holiday travelers expect to travel by automobile to their destinations over Labor Day, which represents a higher percentage than the TripAdvisor survey revealed.

The national average for self-serve regular gasoline is $3.69 per gallon as reported by AAA, but this is already changing by the minute with the approach of Hurricane Gustav and Tropical Storm Hanna in the Atlantic.

*Studies referenced through www.tia.org by clicking here.

Photo Credit: The Weather Channel

NOTE: Storm names and conditions were accurate at time of publishing on August 29, 2008.