An adventurous group of women in their 60s are taking the road trip of a lifetime to various national parks this summer, but one national problem is weighing on them before they depart: soaring gas prices.
The seven women met through their Delaware-based softball league and wanted to take a trip together. But the war in Iran is causing an ongoing oil supply squeeze that is adding to the woes of summer travelers already feeling the economic heat, with the high cost of fuel piling onto inflationary pressures and cost-of-living concerns.
“Because of the gas prices, we’re all thinking, ‘We can’t do this,’” said Peggy Connor, 66, of Delaware. While they have decided to go, traveling in three camper trailers this August, the group made changes in their route to try to make the trip more affordable, bunking up together in trailers and mapping routes that avoid states with higher gas prices. One of their friends still couldn’t afford to go.
All over the country, the rising economic impact of driving and flying is diminishing summer travel plans and forcing consumers to stay closer to home. According to a new report from Expedia, domestic travel is dominating this summer’s plans, with 51% of US survey respondents said they are more excited about visiting a domestic destination this summer compared to last summer.
Peggy Connor, Ali McKenna and Linda Watson are a part of a group of Delaware women caravanning through the US.
Courtesy Peggy Connor
“This summer’s travel is not slowing down, but it is being reshaped,” said Melanie Fish, vice president of global public relations at Expedia.
Travel website Going.com agrees that a “closer-to-home” mindset is defining this summer, with a survey finding 45% of Americans plan to travel shorter distances and spend less than previous years.
Connor and her group plan to tour Mount Rushmore, the Badlands and Custer State Park, adjusting as needed once they hit the road and see what gas prices look like then. They’ve thought about everything from what cars to drive for better mileage with their trailers, to how much they can carry on the way back and what the cost of fuel might be from the added weight.
But they can’t avoid the surging gas prices — the group has had to cut a trip to Utah to see Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park out of their plan, because it was “just too expensive.”
Parents are getting creative
Kimberly Lawson, a mom living in east Tennessee, took her son to Orlando, Florida, as school was letting out. Every year they take a trip around the same time. This year she saved money by cooking for her 14-year-old at the condo where they were staying. She also found free transportation to visit local resorts in Orlando, rather than driving.
“If you’ve got kids, you still have to find things to do and things that they enjoy without it costing, you know, $50 or more a person per day,” Lawson said. “It’s just being more creative.”
Lawson made the decision to drive her own vehicle to get there to save on a rental car and packed it with groceries. She checked airfare prices, but they were over her budget.
Kimberly Lawson and her son on a trip in Orlando this May.
Kimberly Lawson
Gas was averaging around $4.30 a gallon the week she went to Orlando in May, according to Gas Buddy. Today, prices have since declined, averaging about $3.60 a gallon in the Orlando area.
“I’m still very budget conscious, but even more so this year,” Lawson said. “We wanted to go to Crystal Springs when we were down in Orlando, and some of the different hikes, some different things to explore, and we did not do any of those… With the gas prices, I just didn’t even consider it.”
‘Every little bit helps’
Some travelers were lucky enough to beat the high prices and still get to take their international trips, by planning ahead.
Keith McAllister and his family booked a trip from Washington DC to China before the war with Iran started, ahead of airfare increases.
He’s since checked how much it would cost to book their airfares for their June trip, and it was over $1,100 from what he paid just for the Los Angeles International Airport to Beijing leg.
McAllister has been using Costco travel and BJs Wholesale Club to find flights or rental cars. “Third-party aggregate sites … are often a little bit slightly better than market average, but every little bit helps,” he said.
Tourists pose before the iconic Victorian-style homes in San Francisco’s Alamo Square.
He’s pricing a trip to the West coast to visit family in Las Vegas and San Francisco but is having to decide on whether to even make the trip to San Francisco altogether. And he’s encountering high prices on rental cars too, with a Toyota Corolla priced at about $200 a day. He’s also considering renting a car through car-sharing site Turo, but it will all come down to price.
Ted Rossman, a principal analyst at Bankrate, a personal finance site, said people are making cuts this summer where they can, but still taking trips. Several US airlines have reported steady travel demand despite rising airfares.
Rossman added sales typically languish for things like home improvements, furniture, or electronics. Demand for physical goods the past few years has not been as strong, he said, but people are continuing to prioritize experiences.
“You might still be traveling, you’re just traveling differently from last year,” he said.
