MEADVILLE — This weekend could provide the “better news” that many local businesses have been awaiting. The local tourism industry is expecting to close out the summer travel season with a bang — especially since this year’s Labor Day travel nationally is predicted to be 10 percent higher than it was in 2009.

“We’ve got a lot of events going on all over the county this weekend,” said Juanita Hampton, executive director of the Crawford County Convention and Visitors Bureau. “If the weather holds, we should get a lot of people.”

Labor Day weekend always produces a good turnout at Conneaut Lake Park, said Jack Moyers, chairman of Trustees of Conneaut Lake Park, which owns the amusement park.

“It’s a last blast of summer,” he said. “It’s popular with people who want to get out for a last round of coming to the park.” And the long-awaited reopening of the Blue Streak roller coaster this weekend could attract even bigger crowds.

The American Automobile Association predicts 34.4 million people will take a trip at least 50 miles away from home this year, up from the 31.3 million Americans who traveled during the 2009 Labor Day holiday. It’s an increase of 9.9 percent from 2009.

AAA said approximately 1.2 million Pennsylvanians will travel this holiday. Of those traveling, 1.1 million will drive, 66,000 anticipate flying to their destination, and 54,000 will travel by an alternative form of transportation like boat, bus, train or motorcycle, according to AAA.

“While media reports on the state of the U.S. economy continue to be mixed, many Americans are still interested in taking one more trip as the summer travel season comes to a close,” said Jim Lehman, executive vice president, AAA East Central. “The forecasted increase is reflective of the upward travel trends observed by AAA throughout 2010.”

An informal check of some area camping areas and hotels found they’re expecting a good weekend — provided the weather holds.

“Traditionally, we do well on Labor Day,” said Pete Houghton, park manager at Pymatuning State Park. “It’s not as big as Memorial Day or Fourth of July, as schools and fall sports have started back up.”

At midweek, about 75 to 80 percent of Pymatuning’s 410 campsites were already reserved for over the weekend, and all 25 cabins are reserved, said Jason Baker, assistant manager at Pymatuning.

“We’re definitely filling up,” Baker said.

Greg Sutterlin, who operates the Hotel Conneaut at Conneaut Lake Park, expects the 120-room hotel to be full this weekend.

“We have a lot of reservations for Saturday, and a number for Sunday as well,” Sutterlin said, noting the hotel was about 80 percent reserved for Saturday at midweek. “We’re crossing our fingers with the weather.”

Anuraag Mullick, general manager of the 163-room Days Inn Hotel and Conference Center in Vernon Township, said he expects this Labor Day to be better than 2009, but doesn’t know if he’ll sell out.

“Now, there’s not much advance booking for hotels,” he said. “These days it’s three days out or less (for reservations). A lot of it is walk-in trade.”

AAA said its forecast for an increase in travel for Labor Day appears to be the result of economic improvement over the past year. While job growth has been disappointing, gross domestic product, household net worth and consumer confidence have increased, while consumer debt has decreased, according to AAA.

In addition to economic data, the date of the Labor Day holiday is another variable considered in the forecast, according to AAA.

The 2010 Labor Day holiday travel period is defined as Thursday, Sept. 2  to Monday, Sept. 6.

The earlier the holiday falls in September, the more travel tends to occur, according to AAA. Although the growth in Labor Day travel is predicted to be strong at 9.9 percent, had the holiday fallen earlier in the month the forecasted number of travelers would likely be even higher, AAA said.

 

Keith Gushard can be reached at 724-6370 or by e-mail at kgushard@meadvilletribune.com.