NEW YORK — Cheaper gas won’t be enough to get many more Americans on the road this summer. They’re still too worried about their jobs and the economy.
Economists and tourism experts are expecting a small uptick in summer travelers. Gas prices are lower but still high enough to keep some Americans off the road. The job market is improving but still shaky. And household debt remains high.
Those who travel won’t feel free to splurge. The bulk of road-trippers, experts say, will take shorter trips and trim food and entertainment spending to conserve cash.
“Travel is about security,” said John Larson, vice president for IHS Global Insight, the firm that analyzed the AAA study. “If you feel less secure about your future, you may be less willing to take this trip.”
For Memorial Day weekend, auto club AAA estimates that 34.8 million Americans will take trips of at least 50 miles. That’s a half-million more than last Memorial Day but equal to the number who traveled two years ago. Roughly 30.7 million — or 88 percent of those traveling — will drive, up 1.2 percent from last year, AAA says. Memorial Day tends to be a good indicator of summer travel overall.
Gas was averaging around $3.85 per gallon when AAA spoke with 315 would-be travelers April 20-24. The survey showed that those making less than $50,000 a year will make up about a quarter of all Memorial Day travelers, down from nearly a third a year ago. Higher gas prices eat up a larger share of lower-income families’ household budgets.
AAA estimates that 5.5 percent fewer people will travel by plane this Memorial Day.
Where they’re going
The most popular summer destinations of 2011:
Orlando (Disney World)
Honolulu
Anaheim (Disneyland)
Las Vegas
Kahului (Hawaii)
New York
Lihue (Hawaii)
San Francisco
Phoenix
SeattleSource: AAA
