High gas prices and concerns about a weak U.S. economy are expected to keep some travelers at home for the Labor Day weekend.

Travel club AAA and the Air Transport Association, an airline trade group, are both forecasting declines for the holiday weekend as travelers adjust to rising costs.

The declines are expected to be higher for air travelers, in part because of schedule cuts by airlines.

Labor Day marks the third holiday expected to see a decline in visitors this summer, which has been punctuated by record fuel prices.

But operators of Texas attractions said the dips in demand haven't happened in the Lone Star State.

Perhaps fueled by the much-vaunted "staycation," many Texas travel hotspots reported strong demand from residents and drive-in visitors.

Business in San Antonio soared, as the city recorded jumps in occupancy despite having added 2,000 hotel rooms, said Scott White, executive director of the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"We didn't imagine we would be able to do that at a time when gas prices were so high and the economy was slow," he said.

While staycations became the focus of promotional campaigns by hotels and attractions across the country, at least one survey showed they didn't exactly replace the traditional summer vacation.

Just 14 percent of Americans said they'd had taken a "staycation" within the last six months and only 9 percent said they were planning one in the next six months, according to a survey of 2,231 U.S. adults released this month by the Travel Industry Association and research firm Ypartnership of Orlando, Fla.

Texas tourism operators claimed success, thanks to summer marketing campaigns that targeted Texans looking for discounts and a closer vacation spot.

In San Antonio, promoters intensified their direct mail and online marketing campaigns, getting information about discounts and attractions to target customers earlier.

"We really touted the fact that San Antonio is an affordable destination," Mr. White said.

Attendance jumped 6 percent at SeaWorld San Antonio, putting the park on track to set a record this year, said Dan Decker, the park's executive vice president and general manager.

The summer started slow for guests coming from within Texas but recovered as the season progressed, he said.

At Space Center Houston, customer traffic from major Texas markets, including San Antonio and Dallas, posted declines this summer, but gains from the Houston market and out-of-state guests more than made up for it.

Spokesman Roger Bornstein said the "right mix of special attractions at the right time" helped boost summer attendance almost 15 percent. The popularity of two exhibits – Daredevil Island and Star Wars: The Clone Wars – helped push season passes up 25 percent as locals made multiple visits.

For Natural Bridge Caverns, located between San Antonio and New Braunfels, attendance from Houston and Dallas remained strong, said Joye Wuest, the attraction's chief financial officer.

Natural Bridge attendance jumped more than 20 percent, though that was compared with a year when flooding in the caves limited how many people could tour. Even so, the company is still more than 10 percent above its four-year average, she said.

Local visitors also fueled attendance at Galveston Island's Moody Gardens. The important Memorial Day and July 4 holiday weekends each posted gains of more than 20 percent as the park attracted more Texas visitors looking for closer vacation spots, spokeswoman Kuriko Hasegawa said.

Soggy weather – which kept many visitors home last summer – played only a minor role in 2008 for Schlitterbahn Waterparks. The New Braunfels-based company had to temporarily close its parks on Galveston Island and South Padre Island under threats of hurricanes and tropical storms.

Other than that, summer attendance was "up significantly," spokesman Jeffrey Siebert said.

He credited two new rides at its New Braunfels waterpark, plus discount promotions, for the strong summer. While the park has long allowed guests to bring in their own food and park for free, it was usually only a small tagline in the company's marketing. This year, those features were communicated more prominently in TV ads and other promotions.

"That really resonated with visiting families," he said.

Texas' Six Flags amusement parks in San Antonio and Arlington, which typically draw heavily on a drive-in market, reported strong demand over the summer, in part because of a promotion that offered kid-priced tickets for adults.

"It performed very well for us," said Synde Purvis, a spokeswoman for Six Flags Fiesta Texas.

Steve Martindale, president of Six Flags Over Texas and Hurricane Harbor, credited a new skateboard-themed Tony Hawk's Big Spine and the waterpark's new Mega Wedgie slide for drawing crowds.

And the addition of 10 kid-friendly rides in 2006 seems to have paid off, as the park's share of family visitors rose.

"They [families] no longer have to stay in Looney Tunes all day," Mr. Martindale said. "They can be more mobile and see the rest of the park, too."