SAN DIEGO — People began setting up their tents and beach chairs bright and early at Mission Beach on Labor Day.
"It's great. We love it, I love San Diego," said dad Trevor Omara. He brought his three children to Mission Beach on Monday.
"My wife is on deployment right now somewhere on the other side of the country. It's good for them to get out, have some fun," he added.
His family lives in Imperial Beach, but he said because of the sewage crisis, they never go to the beach there. Omara said with kids, its just too risky.
Monday morning, there were still plenty of parking spots and places on the beach to sit.
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By noon, the crowd grew slightly. Some speculated the cloud cover was keeping people away.
"We're from Texas and my 7-year-old just asked if we could move here because it's just so lovely," laughed Amber Burroughs, visiting with her family from Dallas. "The weather here is so great, it's so wonderful. We're supposed to fly back tonight, but we would Iike to stay another day."
According to San Diego Lifeguards, Labor Day crowds are never nearly as large as holidays such as the Fourth of July.
However, the holiday still creates a big boom for the local tourism industry. The San Diego Tourism Authority says the three-day weekend brought in $87 million back in 2022.
Terry White traveled to San Diego from Seattle for the holiday weekend.
"It's certainly better than being in Washington this time of year. It's usually rainy and a little cooler," White said.
AAA predicted a 9% increase in travel compared to last year. Experts recommended leaving before 10 a.m. on Monday if you're driving home. If you decide to leave Tuesday then it's best to go after 1 p.m.
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At the San Diego International Airport on Monday, departures were smooth, but some families arrived after several hours of delays. One visitor even said they traveled for 24 hours to get to San Diego.
Watch related: Labor Day travel at the San Diego International Airport
WATCH RELATED: San Diego sees tourism boom over Labor Day weekend