This weekend pack up the car … and wait

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AAA Mid-Atlantic is predicting a 9 percent increase in travel this Labor Day holiday weekend … and most of those travelers will hit the road.

The company says approximately 637,200 Marylanders will take a trip at least 50 miles round-trip away from home. That’s a 9.1 percent increase from 2009.

But for those of you groaning over the inescapable traffic jam you’re sure to hit in your travels, there’s hope. Well, sort of.

The auto club issued it’s travel predictions with one caveat: The current path of Hurricane Earl could drive some travelers to stay home.

But I wouldn’t count on that. As AAA‘s Ragina C. Averella says: “Whether travelers change their destinations to avoid the storm or the storm misses us all together, the big news is that Marylanders are traveling yet again for another summer holiday weekend, despite the economic hardships many are still facing.”

Here’s the breakdown by travel mode:

• Auto: 591,000 (93 percent of travelers); an increase of 9.5 percent
• Air:27,700 (4 percent of travelers); an increase of 4.9 percent
• Other Modes (bus, train, watercraft): 18,500 (3 percent of travelers); an increase of 4.1 percent

And getting from Point A to Point B this weekend isn’t coming cheap. AAA Mid-Atlantic expects weekend airfares to increase 9 percent to a minimum of $179 for the top 40 U.S. air routes, daily car rental rates will increase 7 percent to an average of $46 and hotel rates for AAA Three Diamond lodgings are expected to increase 6 percent to an average of $139 per night.

Translation? Looks like it’s going to be a good weekend for the Maryland tourism industry.