Labor Day 2013: Here’s what you’ll be doing after the holiday

Few American travelers take extra days off during the Labor Day weekend, it appears: About 67% of us are back at our desks by Tuesday and 87% are back to work by Wednesday.

That’s the word from TripIt, which gathered five years of data on where folks who used its travel booking site go over the holiday and when they return.

The study found that 15% of Labor Day travelers are daytrippers, 9% will stay overnight, 11% will stay two nights, 32% will go for three nights and 20% will take a four-day weekend. In addition, 9% plan a five-day trip and 4% extend the holiday to six or more nights.

“More than half of Labor Day travelers (52%) stick to a three- or four-night getaway over the long weekend, so leaving earlier, staying longer or taking a plus day ‘stretch-cation’ can maximize relaxation and help avoid holiday swarms,” TripIt says in a statement.

Here’s something about those “swarms”: More travelers will be hitting the road or going to the airport Friday and returning Monday. More than 2 million Southern Californians are expected to take off over the holiday weekend and most will be driving, according to the Auto Club of Southern California.

Almost 4 million Californians are expected to travel this weekend too. Nationwide, AAA has predicted that 34.1 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home, a 4.2% increase over last year, and most will be going by car.

So maybe it’s not too late to think about burning a few extra vacation days to avoid the crush and buck the trend of being back at work Tuesday.

mary.forgione@latimes.com
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