Gasoline prices over this year’s long Fourth of July weekend are expected to be the lowest in 16 years, but many Americans aren’t taking advantage of cheap gas, choosing to stay home as coronavirus cases continue to surge.
Gas prices nationally this weekend are projected to average $2.17 per gallon, the lowest since they averaged $1.87 in 2004, according to GasBuddy. A gallon of gas in Houston is expected to average $1.84 this holiday weekend, down from around $2.42 a year ago.
“Without a doubt, demand is being impacted from COVID-19,” said Patrick DeHaan, GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis. “There’s still a lot of anxiety fueling more motorists to stay at home this year versus recent years.”
Americans are returning to the roads and skies after many states lifted coronavirus-related restrictions on business and travel. Demand for petroleum products such as gasoline and jet fuel, however, is still down considerably as many Americans choose to stay home instead of travel this summer, analysts said.
Travelers this year are more likely to book long-weekend getaways than extended vacations, and are more likely to drive than fly this year. In Texas and surrounding states, automobile travel is expected to fall by 3.6 percent this year, while air, rail and cruise travel is expected to fall by more than 75 percent this year, according to the American Automobile Association..
“Everyone’s hesitant to get into a sardine can in the air,” DeHaan said. “That reluctance to fly may help bolster gasoline demand as opposed to jet fuel.”
“Road trips allow for increased social distancing while these COVID-19 concerns remain,” said Joshua Zuber, a spokesman with AAA Texas.
Gasoline demand, which plunged by about 50 percent in March and April, is down about 15 percent from a year ago. Demand for jet fuel, which plummeted 70 percent, is still down about 64 percent, and could take years to recover, according to the Energy Information Administration.
Petroleum demand could remain depressed as coronavirus cases rise in several states, including Texas, striking another blow to consumer confidence and raising the spectre of more lockdowns.
AAA forecasts that Americans will take 707 million trips this summer, down nearly 15 percent from last summer and the first decline in summer travel since 2009. If it weren’t for the pandemic, AAA expected 857 million trips this summer, a 3.6 percent increase over last year.
Travelers from Texas and the surrounding states will take 79 million trips this summer, down 13 percent from last summer, AAA predicted.
Rey Alton, a manager at Houston-based travel agency Almeda Travel, typically books flights, cruises and resort vacations in Mexico and the Caribbean for 2,000 travelers every summer. This summer, Alton, a travel agent for 25 years, said he’s booked only one trip: a honeymoon to Bali.
“People are really staying in — they’re not even taking road trips,” Alton said. “We’re just telling people to stay put for people’s safety so we can travel next year. If we don’t stay put, it’s going to linger on.”
Zenwick Ward has taken a big trip overseas every summer after he and his wife became empty nesters several years ago.
The Cypress resident, who went to Australia and New Zealand last year, was planning to visit Japan, Thailand and Vietnam this summer — until the coronavirus upended his plans. Now, the 55-year-old software developer and his wife plan to go only as far as Florida in July — by car.
“We love to travel to get away from it all,” Ward said. “But because of what’s going on, we decided to cut our trip to Asia and go to Florida. We’re not scared, but we want to be careful.”
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'People are really staying in': Low gas prices fail to ignite Fourth of July holiday travel - Houston Chronicle
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