Rising Gas Prices a Serious Concern for U.S. Travelers and Operators for 2012 Summer Vacation Season

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According to a new survey by the U.S. Travel Association, as the price of crude oil continues to rise, travelers could alter vacation plans to control summer vacation costs and business travelers will travel less.

"If travelers are spending more on gas, they are spending less on hotels, attractions, shopping and restaurants, which could have a negative impact on our overall economy," said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association.

"We need to find solutions that reduce the burden which rising gas prices are placing on everyday travelers."

For vacationers planning to travel by car this summer, more than half (54 percent) said that an increase in gas prices would affect their summer leisure travel plans, and an even higher percentage (57 percent) indicated altering travel plans if gas prices increased by at least $0.26 - $1.25.  Roughly one-quarter (26.8 percent) of business travelers said that an increase in gas prices would affect summer business plans.

Almost half (44 percent) of vacationers traveling by car said that an increase in gas prices would cause them to take fewer trips this summer. Almost one-fifth (19 percent) of business travelers using a car would take fewer trips.

Forty-three percent of leisure travelers planning to fly this summer said that an increase in airfare due to higher oil prices would affect their summer plans, with one-quarter (25 percent) of business travelers planning to fly saying the same.

"It's important to remember that, along with the housing crisis, a surge in gasoline prices was one of the leading factors that pushed the economy into recession in 2008," said David Huether, senior vice president of economics and research at U.S. Travel.  "There is a very real probability that if gas prices continue to climb, Americans will change and reduce their travel plans, which would work against the positive economic momentum that had been building in recent quarters."

Finally, almost half of all travelers (43 percent) said their vote for a presidential or congressional candidate this fall would be influenced by higher gas/oil prices.