Friday, 23 May 2008 02:43

Fewer Holiday Travelers

slide23.pngSome local residents say traveling on holiday weekends has lost some of its allure, so they're staying close to home. This is in line with the latest AAA of Northern California report, which found that fewer Californians than last year will travel over the upcoming Memorial Day holiday. Record-high gas prices are partially to blame for what is expected to be an overall decrease of 0.1 percent over last year's travel numbers, a spokesman for AAA said. Experts suggest the weakened dollar may be among the reasons travel may be down this year, though millions of Americans will be heading out of town next weekend, anyway, AAA reports. More than 4.6 million Californians are expected to travel 50 miles or more this Memorial Day weekend in the first overall decline in Memorial Day travel since 2002.