TSA predicts 14 million Americans will travel over Labor Day weekend
NEWARK, N.J. -- Thousands of people around the Tri-State Area are on the move Friday to squeeze in one last summer weekend before kids head back to school.
Fourteen million Americans will fly to a destination over Labor Day weekend this year, according to the Transportation Security Administration.
Travelers taking advantage of the final long weekend of the summer had a smooth ride to Newark Liberty International Airport.
"No delays or anything. It was beautiful," said Tessy Rodas. "Traveling for the long weekend. My eldest son is having his baby shower this weekend. We came from Puerto Rico."
"Traveling with my cousin. We're gonna go southern border. So we're gonna do some barbecue," said David Ani.
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International travel is seeing the biggest spike this year, up 44% from 2022, according to experts. Locally, there's been a slight increase over last year.
"We're seeing domestic bookings, hotels, rental cars, parks and all sorts of tickets, that's up 4%, and cruising is up domestically 19%," said AAA's Robert Sinclair Jr.
Sinclair said all-inclusive cruises allow people to stay within their budget at a time when many are feeling the squeeze.
"In a time of inflation that people like the sort of pay-up-front price for cruising. If your drinks are included, you know exactly what it's going to cost you," said Sinclair.
Millions of people are also hitting the roads with lower gas prices this year. The average price for a gallon of regular is $3.90 in New York, $3.89 in Connecticut and $3.66 in New Jersey.
Friday, the New Jersey Department of Treasury announced the gas tax rate will increase by 0.9 cents per gallon beginning in about a month.
"A lot of folks are traveling, 85% of the surveys that we did locally, folks said that they were driving. The distances are down significantly from what I remember in the past, with the average trip 50 to 200 miles," said Sinclair.
Experts said drivers are traveling shorter distances to save money on gas while still getting away.
Officials said they expect heavier-than-normal traffic on the roads until 9 p.m. Friday.