Fewer Nevadans to travel over Labor Day

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

In it's holiday survey, more than 335,000 Nevadans said they will travel more than 50 miles from home over the upcoming, 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 Michael Geeser, AAA Nevada spokesman.

Nationally, AAA projected an overall 1.4 percent decline in Labor Day weekend travel. Still, more than 34 million Americans plan to travel.

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