US vacationers travel more despite high gas costs

18 May 2006 18:52  [Source: ICIS news]

WASHINGTON (ICIS news)--More Americans will take motoring vacations for the Memorial Day holiday than last year despite nearly record-high costs for gasoline, the American Automobile Association said on Thursday.

 

The association said about 31.4m US vacationers will drive their cars for the vacation season that starts with the 29 May Memorial Day holiday, an increase of nearly 1% from last year.

 

 Although marginal, the anticipated increase in summer vacation driving comes at a more critical time for the US fuels industry as it struggles to complete the switch from methyl tertiary butyl ether to ethanol as a gasoline oxygenate.

 

The increase in holiday driving and gasoline consumption comes despite a 34% increase in the price of gasoline compared with the same holiday period last year.  Nationwide, a gallon of gas is selling for $2.93, the association said, an increase of 75 cents since the same period a year ago.

 

Nor have increased costs for aviation fuel and resulting increases in air travel tickets deterred American vacationers, the association said.  About 4.3m Americans will travel by air to their vacation spots, an increase of 1.5% compared with last year, despite a 10% increase in air ticket costs, the association said.

 

Some 1.9m vacationers will travel by bus or train, about the same volume as last year.  The association surveyed American households nationwide on their holiday and summer travel plans.

 

The increase in holiday travel despite high fuel costs is likely to put still further upward pressure on pricing. 

By: Joe Kamalick
+1 713 525 2653

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