Gasoline Prices Crimp Holiday Travel Plans

High pump prices are taking a toll on vacationers, AAA said Wednesday, with travel over the long Fourth of July weekend expected to rise by the slowest pace in years in California and nationwide.

The number of Americans traveling during the four-day holiday weekend is expected to rise 1.2% from a year ago, the smallest increase since 2000, as high pump prices cause people to scale back travel plans, AAA said in an annual forecast.

A record 40.7 million Americans are expected to take trips during the long weekend, the summer’s biggest travel holiday, up from 40.2 million last year, according to AAA, the nation’s largest motoring club. About 34.3 million people will travel by car, up 1.3% from last year, the report said.

“The leading reason people give for not traveling, or changing their travel plans, has been high gas prices,” AAA spokesman Mike Pina said.

In California, a record 5.67 million people are expected to take trips during the holiday, up 1.4% from the 5.59 million that traveled last year, said Marie Montgomery, spokeswoman for the Automobile Club of Southern California.

“That’s below what we’ve seen in other holidays,” Montgomery said. “We’ve seen 2%, 3%, even 4% during times when gas prices weren’t such a factor.”

About 14% of the U.S. population will travel by road, rail or air over the holiday, the report said. The number of Fourth of July travelers generally increases to a record every year, Pina said. The last time there was a decline was in 1998.

Rising crude oil prices and limited refining capacity have contributed to a 29% jump in costs at the pump from a year ago. On Wednesday, the average price for a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline was $2.859 nationwide and $3.168 in California, according to AAA.

High pump prices aren’t keeping people from renting recreational vehicles, said Joe Laing, marketing director for El Monte RV Inc. of Santa Fe Springs, a sales and rental company with dealerships around the U.S.

“We are running out of motor homes for the Fourth of July,” said Laing, who estimated that most RVs get less than 10 miles per gallon of gasoline. “We are expecting in certain areas to be completely booked out.”

El Monte RV typically has between 1,500 and 1,800 RVs available as rentals, Laing said.

“People are finding a way around the issue of gas prices,” AAA Chief Executive Robert Darbelnet said in a telephone interview from Washington.

“We see people expressing more interest in the budget hotels in contrast to the more pricey hotels,” he said. “The only times we see a dip in people’s willingness to take a road trip is when the availability of gas is in question.”

The top travel destination for Californians is Las Vegas, followed by Santa Barbara and San Francisco, the AAA said.

Bloomberg News was used in compiling this report.