Despite record-high gasoline prices, Americans are still expected to travel in droves over the upcoming Memorial Day weekend – and all summer long.
AAA Colorado projected Thursday that 38.3 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more over the holiday weekend, up 1.7 percent over last year.
In a separate survey, the Travel Industry Association of America estimates that a record 329.6 million Americans will take a major trip between June and August, up 1.4 percent over last year.
Those trends appear on track with expected vacation travel in Colorado.
ResortQuest, which manages about 1,200 Colorado vacation rental properties, said its advance bookings for the region are up 9 percent over last year. Stay Aspen/Snowmass, the biggest central reservation system in the Roaring Fork Valley, said its bookings are up about 1 percent from last year.
“Cost increases can have a negative impact on travel, but we’ve seen travelers become more and more resilient,” said AAA Colorado spokesman Eric Escudero. “People are still traveling.”
The average price for a tank of unleaded gas in Colorado reached an all-time high of $3.27 Thursday, up 44 cents from the same day last year.
The national average hit $3.11.
Skyrocketing gas prices are already being felt by the tourism industry. According to the TIA, 11 percent of Americans plan to alter their summer travel plans because of higher trip expenses – including seeking out cheaper lodging and staying closer to home.
And if national gas prices reach $3.50 per gallon, one-third said they would cancel their trips outright.
A handful of Colorado mountain towns have already passed that threshold. Telluride averaged $3.53 per gallon Thursday, according to AAA; Aspen came in at $3.85.
Eighty percent of all summer leisure trips are taken by car.
Sandra Sage, ResortQuest’s regional director of sales and marketing, attributed part of the company’s growth in bookings to its $50 gas-voucher promotion for guests who book at least a four- night stay.
“It is definitely helping to drive business, which is great,” she said. “Gas prices hit a strong nerve with everybody.”
Business and convention travel are projected to be up 3 percent over last summer, according to the TIA.
The Vail Cascade Lodge & Spa hopes to attract more Front Range group business this summer by offering a $25 gas card to each attendee booked through its special gas promotion.
“We have a good, but not great, base booked for the summer,” said Matthew Martinucci, the resort’s regional director of sales and marketing. “We would like business to be up more than it is.”
Staff writer Julie Dunn can be reached at 303-954-1592 or jdunn@denverpost.com.
$64.86 Tuesday’s closing barrel price for crude oil, up $2.31
$68.70 Barrel price one year ago
