NEW YORK, June 7 (UPI) — The U.S. Travel Association said more consumers are ready to take a break from home this year with 2.3 percent more vacation travel expected than in 2009.

“We think people will take a vacation from ‘staycations,” IHS Global Insight economist Steve Piraino said, the Christian Science Monitor reported Monday.

“Staycation” refers to a vacation spent without leaving home, which became more popular in the past two years while the economy suffered.

Piraino predicted travel would not reach the levels of 2006 or 2007, but would still improve this year.

In the travel industry’s favor, about 1.1 million jobs have been added to the economy since the first of the year, and “People feel better off and more confident in their financial prospects,” said Suzanne Cook, senior vice president of research at the travel association.

The industry is also finding support from a stronger dollar. A $316 expense last year in one of the 16 countries that share the euro as currency now totals $244, the newspaper said.

A stronger dollar amounts to a discount across the board in Europe, not just in hotel expenses, but in meals, souvenirs, taxi rides and tickets to museums.