High Gas Prices Affect Vacation Plans

With the cost of gas climbing to four dollars a gallon, many travelers are canceling their plans for vacation. Therefore, many in the travel market are offering prepaid gas cards as incentive to keep people on the road. They are also giving away bus passes, credits and driving lessons.

High levels of anxiety are causing companies to offer even more deals than they did at the beginning of the recession.

An online reservation site, BedandBreakfast.com, offered “Tanks a Lot” a free gas program four years ago for more than ninety resorts. This year, over a hundred fifty are expected to participate across the country.

Robert Mandelbaum of PKF Consulting says, “Historically, in a recession, leisure travel has held up fairly well. People are reacting differently this time around; gas prices are first and foremost in their minds.”

Last year survey of travelers in the United States was conducted by the Travel Industry Association. Almost one third of those questioned said they would not go on vacation if the cost of gas went to three dollars and fifty cents a gallon. In a 2008 survey by the National Leisure Travel Monitor, sixteen percent of those who responded said they would not be taking as many trips this year. A majority of those people blame the high price of fuel.