Holiday travelers gassing up to go despite high cost

COEUR d’ALENE — During the last weekend in May, Celia Mathers fills up her gas tank and hops in the car. It’s time for an annual tradition: her Memorial Day road trip.

The retired English teacher from Colorado, whose wisecracks are at odds with her matronly bun, drives 1,400 miles to Seattle, where she spends two weeks visiting relatives. Higher gas prices put a crimp in her budget this year, but they didn’t derail the trip.

“I invited a friend to split the costs,” Mathers said during a break at the Huetter rest stop near Post Falls along Interstate 90. “It would be hard to give this trip up.”

Her sentiment is shared by nearly 31 million Americans, who will drive to destinations at least 50 miles distant over the Memorial Day weekend. Despite gas prices above $2 per gallon, the American Automobile Association expects a record number of travelers on the road.

Westerners top the list. About 7.4 million of us will take a driving vacation over the three-day holiday, according to AAA.

“It’s our birthright to travel,” said John Brewer, executive director of the Spokane Regional Convention & Visitors Bureau. “There’s a lot of open road, and people aren’t afraid to take long trips.”

Definitely not Mathers, and not her pal, Sally Collins. The two gray-haired friends were driving straight through from Greeley, Colo., sharing an Oldsmobile with three lively papillons, a breed of toy spaniel.

With two drivers, the women didn’t stop to sleep. That eliminated motel costs and the need to pay dog deposits at the motels, which more than made up for higher prices at the pump, Mathers said.

“We talked and sort of decided that we were getting older, and that in another year, it might not be as easy physically to make the trip,” she said.

At 30 miles per gallon, the round-trip fuel costs will total about $215.

“It’s still an inexpensive vacation,” Mathers said.

Memorial Day weekend traditionally kicks off the summer driving season, which stretches 101 days until Labor Day. It’s the busiest time on the road, and typically the time of highest gas prices, according to Dave Overstreet, AAA’s public affairs director in Spokane.

The cost of gas has risen about 60 cents per gallon in the Inland Northwest since last Memorial Day weekend. Gas currently costs about $2.18 per gallon, compared with $1.57 last year at this time.

The higher prices aren’t worrying tourism officials. With the improving economy, they’re gearing up for a busy summer season.

“No one likes where gas prices are going, but nobody sees them as a deterrent to travel,” said Carl Wilgus, the state of Idaho’s tourism director.

Both North Idaho and Spokane are “rubber tire” markets. The vast majority of tourists come by car.

“I don’t think the cost of filling up a tank to travel 200 to 300 miles is going to make a significant difference,” said the CVB’s Brewer. “People become accustomed to the summer travel season, when gas hits a high point.”

Fuel costs remain a relatively small part of overall vacation budgets, he said. Even in a gas-guzzling SUV, getting just 12 miles per gallon, the cost of gas for a trip from Missoula to Spokane is $36.

According to AAA’s national surveys, the average family of four – two adults and two kids – will spend about $125 a night on lodging and $110 a day on meals during a vacation.

“The average person doesn’t seem to consider gas prices when they’re planning a trip,” said Nancy DiGiammarco, marketing director for Silverwood Theme Park. “It’s more of a sticker shock when you get to the pump.”

The amusement park near Athol, Idaho, draws visitors from a six-hour driving radius. Since Silverwood opened May 1, the number of visitors from central Washington and the Puget Sound region is actually on the upswing, DiGiammarco said.

“That’s a pretty good indicator that we’ll be busy,” she said.

Paying an extra $6 to $10 to fill up a gas tank is definitely on people’s minds, however. AAA surveys indicate that prolonged prices above $2 per gallon will start to affect traveling habits, Overstreet said.

“People will take shorter trips and fewer trips,” he said, “and they’ll take them in more fuel-efficient vehicles.

“But none of that is reflected in Memorial Day travel.”