Labor Day Travel Is Up, But You Should Stay Home

on September 3, 2010 at 2:10 PM

Labor Day travel is up this year, as 10% more people say they will travel at least 50 miles away from home this weekend compared to last year. Since the recession was at its worst this time last year, it makes sense more people are feeling flush and ready to vacation a year later. Or does it?

I'm wondering what happened to the staycation? I thought we were all embracing frugality and rejecting holidays filled with gas-guzzling, bustling trips that increase our carbon footprint and decrease our bank account. (I say, as I prepare to board a flight to attend a family wedding.)

Here are five reasons why you should stay home this Labor Day weekend and make your own fun:

1. It's the Economy, Stupid

We're still in a tough spot, unemployment remains between 9.5 and 9.7 percent for August. The housing market is slumping after the tax benefit closed, and do you feel any wealthier?

2. Airport Shut Downs

Already this holiday weekend Miami International Airport had to shut down due to a suspected bomb in someone's luggage. Thankfully it was a scientist with some funky business, but following last week's scare on the Chicago to Amsterdam flight, you can bet the TSA is on high alert which means delays all around.

3. Hurricane Earl

I hope you didn't pre-pay for that beach vacation in the mid-Atlantic region. Even though Earl seems to be fairly chill, you can still count on some evacuation and/or miserable weather if you dare cross his path.

4. Another Oil Spill?

Ditto if you planned a beach vacation in the Gulf of Mexico. It doesn't appear that any oil is leaking from the latest oil platform explosion in the gulf, but we all know how these things can go awry. If you were planning on getting away to the region, maybe stay inside the French Quarter in New Orleans and get a bar tan instead.

5. Construction Delays

All across the country, stimulus money is being put to use to fix our roads. Which is awesome, unless you're sitting in traffic alongside those orange cones.

Going anywhere this weekend?

Image via Burning Images/Flickr

About the author April Peveteaux

writes about anything that gets stuck in her craw. A mom of two in Los Angeles, she can't believe she practically lives in the country now after attempting to raise kids in Brooklyn.

Filed Under: airplanes, bomb threat, economy

Comments (6)

Nonmember comment from Emily

on Sep 3, 2010 at 3:05 PM

While I can appreciate the solution of a "Staycation" during rough economic times, we are fortunate enough to find our nation slowly and quietly rebuilding itself. People are ready to go out and explore the world they had unwillingly left behind for almost two years. As someone who's livelihood and that of her family depends on tourism, I am beginning to resent mainstream media that is steering the public away from travel and scaring them away from vacation destinations that are working so hard to give people a great vacation on a budget. In case you didn't know, hundreds of thousands if not millions of jobs across the world depend on tourist activity. What we need is people who have the money to spend it and stimulate our economy, not stay home and contribute to its demise. On behalf of all of us who rely on this last weekend of summer for tourist activity to get us through the winter, please don't encourage people to stay home.

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knfisch

on Sep 3, 2010 at 3:50 PM

I agree with Emily, we need the ppl who have the money and the ability to spend it to go out and spend it. I wish we were fortunate to be one of them but we had to buy a car recently and so added a bill into our mix and are on a really really tight budget. But we are going to my parent's house which is about 2 hours away for the weekend.

hoticedcoffee

on Sep 3, 2010 at 10:02 PM

So, "we" have the right to request people to spend their money on travel and tourism during tough economic times? My family has the money and the ability to go away this weekend, and we're choosing not to. I don't see encouraging signs of the nation 'slowly and quietly rebuidling itself' (wondering what nation Emily lives in.....). Spending money on an unnecessary weekend getaway just doesn't seem like a good idea right now. What we need is a conservative spending plan and an administration that doesn't make people feel they need to cling to every dollar earned.

on Sep 4, 2010 at 10:36 AM

I live in a nation where we are all entitled to our own opinions! However, if your paycheck was based upon tourism perhaps you would feel differently. I am in no way encouraging frivolous spending and/or people spending money beyond their needs. I am merely saying that the media and blog posts such as this posted yesterday are scaring people away from affordable weekend getaways that the hospitality industry is generously offering. And hoticedcoffee, which is it exactly? Is "spending money on an unnecessary weekend getaway" a bad idea or do we "need...an administration that doesn't make people feel they need to cling to every dollar earned"? Perhaps you should decide which side of the fence you are on.

on Sep 4, 2010 at 5:04 PM

Actually, if you really read those 2 quotes, you'll be able to comprehend they come from the same side of the fence, but I'll rephrase it for you - I feel like we should hold onto our money instead of heading off on a weekend jaunt, because this current administration makes me feel like I need to. Can you figure out my side now?

I am sorry that your industry is suffering, but so are a lot of others who are offering "bargains" - that doesn't mean I should spend money on it, even though I have it.

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