High gas prices put summer plans at risk

As temperatures have steadily climbed upward, so too has the price of gas. And the latest government forecasts for the beginning of the summer travel season don’t offer relief.

Gas prices in central Missouri have increased 36 cents a gallon in the past two months, according to the state Department of Natural Resources. Gas was $1.82 per gallon Feb. 7 and $2.18 per gallon April 7.

Nationally, the Department of Energy has predicted gas prices will peak at $2.35 per gallon in May. The government forecasts an average price of $2.28 through September, which would be 38 cents higher than last year.

In its March/April issue of Midwest Traveler, AAA reported 39 percent of members surveyed in Missouri and three other states said they will take fewer or shorter leisure trips this summer because of high gas prices. Compared to last year, the association reported, 51 percent planned the same number of leisure trips and 39 percent will take fewer.

Margaret Shetley of Kansas City, who was filling her tank at a Columbia station last week after driving to Jefferson City, said the trip cost her more than she’d expected. She said the higher prices will probably cause her to cancel leisure trips this summer.

“We won’t be doing any pleasure driving,” she said. “We’re definitely not going to see my family in Louisiana.”

The issue of changing travel patterns is being addressed by the Missouri Division of Tourism.

Tracey Berry, spokeswoman for the division, said her agency isn’t expecting a decrease in tourism revenues but is making adjustments nonetheless. The division recently began promoting “one tank trips” on its Web site at www.missouritourism.org.

Berry said that travelers will find ways to offset the higher fuel costs, but that it was unreasonable to think that vacations would be cancelled altogether. “If my vacation is going to cost a little more, I may not buy a T-shirt or maybe I’ll budget my food better,” she said. “But I’m not going to cancel my trip.”

Randall Clark, a labor analyst with the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, singled out two sectors of the economy that are traditionally the first to feel the impact of higher gas prices. “In previous times, the motor vehicle production industry and the hotel and tourism industries are the first to be affected,” he said.

Clark said the demand for gas was up 2 percent nationwide from last year, despite higher prices.

Although gas prices are at record highs, gas was more expensive in 1981 when adjusted for inflation. The Department of Labor’s inflation calculator found that the highest price in 1981, $1.42, is equivalent to $3 today.

Additionally, since it costs more to drive, consumers will be driving to stores less and will have less to spend. At some point, he said, some employers could be forced to cut jobs.

“We haven’t seen evidence of that happening yet,” Clark said. “But it may be an interesting spring and summer.”