The final long weekend of summer is here, and AAA expects this Labor Day to be a busy one. Travelers are encouraged to pack their patience as roads and airports will be busy as people try to make the most of the holiday weekend. This Labor Day weekend, based on AAA bookings at the national level, AAA predicts domestic travel to increase 22 percent compared to 2021 while international travel bookings are up 104 percent compared to last year. Here are the top destinations for holiday travel based on AAA reservations at the national level:

When it comes to local road trips, AAA Western and Central New York has seen an increase in regional and northeastern travel. Cross-country summer road trips are being replaced with requests for wine trails in the Finger Lakes, activities near area lakes like Chautauqua, and camping in the Adirondacks.  AAA Travel is seeing more travelers planning trips to New England with Bar Harbor, Cape Cod, New Hampshire, and Vermont the leading destinations. Requests are also on the rise for snowbirds preparing to return to Florida for the winter. Travelers are paying more for their Labor Day trips this year:

• Air—AAA finds that the average lowest airfare is coming in at $179/ticket, an almost 20% increase over last year and a 30% increase over 2020.  
• Hotels—AAA finds that the average lowest mid-range hotel rate (3 Diamond properties) is coming in at $233/night. Hotel rates are up almost 53% over the past two years.
• Car Rentals— AAA finds that the average lowest car rental rate is coming in at $89/day. When compared to 2020, car rental rates are up almost 32%.

Road trippers should plan ahead for their Labor Day trips and make sure their vehicles are road trip ready. AAA expects to rescue more than 545,000 motorists across the U.S. during the travel period from September 1-6, which is up 10 percent compared to last year. In New York state, AAA expects to rescue 18,770 motorists.