Cruises and International Bookings Will Help Ensure a Busy Labor Day Weekend in Florida

Thanks to large numbers of Americans booking international flights and cruises, Florida should expect a busier Labor Day than last year’s end-of-summer weekend.

AAA released information this week with “flights, hotels, rental cars, and cruises shows Labor Day weekend travel is up over last year: domestic bookings are up 4 percent and international bookings are up 44 percent.”

Thanks to cruises to Alaska, Seattle is the top destination for travelers this Labor Day, with Orlando in second place, followed by Anchorage, New York and Las Vegas.

“Labor Day weekend will be the big sendoff to what has been an extremely busy summer travel season,” said Debbie Haas, the vice president of travel for AAA and the Auto Club Group. “If you haven’t booked your plans yet, you can work with a AAA travel agent to find the best combination of price and availability.”

“Seattle tourism has been boosted by the strong demand for Alaska cruises. Florida destinations are popular not only for their beaches and theme parks but also for their cruise ports in Central Florida, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, and Miami. AAA data shows domestic cruise bookings over Labor Day weekend are up 19 percent compared to 2022,” AAA noted.

Still, AAA noted that gas prices in Florida are well over what they were at this time last year. This week began with the average gallon of gas in Florida costing $3.82, up 30 cents from that point in 2022.

AAA also offered some insights on when Floridians should hit the road over the Labor Day weekend.

“INRIX, a global provider of transportation data and insights, expects Thursday, August 31 between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. to be the busiest time on the roads during the long Labor Day weekend. Friday, September 1 is also expected to have higher than normal traffic volumes between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m.,” AAA noted.

“The best times to travel by car over Labor Day weekend are early in the morning or in the evening,” said Bob Pishue, a transportation analyst at INRIX. “If you must travel during heavy traffic, navigation apps and local departments of transportation can help steer drivers around long delays.”