High gas prices won’t deter spring-break travelers
Many Southern Californians are cutting back on unnecessary driving around town but most are going ahead with spring break travel plans even though gasoline prices are at record highs for this time of the year, according to a new survey of motorists.
Two-thirds of Southern Californians surveyed by the Automobile Club of Southern California said higher gasoline prices have affected their household budget, but 57% plan to take a leisure trip this spring anyway, compared with 55% last spring.
The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the Los Angeles area was $4.39 on Monday, compared with $3.97 at this time last year, according to the Auto Club. That amount is still below the record high of $4.64 per gallon for the area in June 2008.
The survey of 623 Auto Club members released Monday shows that Southern Californians are changing their spending habits to compensate for the higher fuel prices, but most won’t let the gas-price surge mess up their spring vacation plans. In fact, the survey shows that many are ready to spend more on their vacations this spring than they did last spring.
Of those Southern Californians who said high fuel prices have affected their budget, 81% said they are cutting back on unnecessary driving, 55% said they plan to eat out at restaurants less and 48% said they plan to spend less on entertainment.
But of those travelers who said gas prices were a problem, only 29% said they planned to cut back on spending for spring trips, compared with 34% who said they would spend less on travel last spring, according to the survey.
“One reason we may not be seeing a big increase in budget concerns from last year related to high gas prices is that even though they’ve climbed almost 75 cents since Jan. 1, prices were close to $4 during most of last year, and so far they’ve stayed below that next crucial benchmark of $4.50,” Auto Club spokesman Jeffrey Spring said. “Also, we are hearing anecdotally from members that the rebound of the stock market has improved their budget outlook.”
The survey found that fewer Southern Californians plan to spend $500 or less on leisure travel during spring and significantly more travelers plan to spend $2,001 to $3,000 on their vacation.
