AAA: Fewer Nevadans to travel over Labor Day

Staff and wire reports

Friday, Aug. 29, 2008 | 6:52 a.m.

Fewer Nevadans plan to travel over the long Labor Day weekend because of high gas prices and the sputtering economy, AAA said this week.

In its holiday survey, more than 335,000 Nevadans said they will travel more than 50 miles from home over the three-day weekend.

Of those, about 264,000 plan on going by car, a 1.8 percent decrease compared with last year, AAA said. Nearly 55,000 Nevadans plan to fly to their destination, a decrease of 3.4 percent from 2007.

"Even with gas prices falling across the state, this has been a tough summer economically for many Nevada families," said AAA Nevada spokesman Michael Geeser.

Gas prices have been falling steadily in the Las Vegas area since peaking at $4.279 a gallon in the valley on June 21. AAA reported this morning that the average price of a gallon of gas is $3.693.

That's lower than the Nevada average of $3.753, but higher than the national average of $3.669.

A month ago, drivers in the Las Vegas area were paying $4.017 for a gallon of gas. One year ago, the price was $2.723.

The cheapest gas in the country can be found in Missouri, at $3.464 a gallon. Only two states -- Alaska and Hawaii -- still have average gas prices above the $4 mark.

According to its survey, AAA said Las Vegas ranks in the top five of domestic destinations for U.S. travelers, along with Hawaii, Phoenix and the Disney amusement park cities of Orlando, Fla., and Anaheim, Calif.

Sun reporter Tim Richardson contributed to this story.