Gas prices may move closer to $3 a gallon this summer, which means Americans may want to travel closer to home for summer vacations.
Drivers should begin to see prices climb at the pump seasonally in April, according to AAA. Increased demand due to people driving more in the warmer weather and the annual industry switch over to summer-blend gasoline, which is more expensive to produce, also adds to the price jump.
A new AAA national survey projects gasoline will peak near $2.70 a gallon this summer. That’s a 53 percent increase from current prices and a 75-cent increase from last year.
The survey, taken in early February, found with these higher prices, many are planning not to leave the country in 2017, making local destinations their vacation of choice as higher gas prices are already influencing the travel industry, according to AAA’s Northeast Director of Public and Legislative Affairs Mary Maguire.
“The majority of consumers planning trips in 2017 say they will not leave the United States,” Maguire said in a statement. “With nearly 80 percent of families planning a summer road trip, higher gas prices are making local destinations, national parks, and theme parks the most desired travel destinations this year.”
Vacation planning isn’t the only impact.
More than 70 percent of those surveyed said they would make everyday lifestyle and driving habit changes to offset the price increase.
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With the current projection, prices at the pump this summer could easily beat 2016 prices. In June 2016, the average price for a gallon of gas was $2.38, making it, at that time, the most expensive average since the previous September.
Prices were at a 12-year low at the beginning of 2016, averaging just $1.86 a gallon during the first quarter.
This week, regular, unleaded self-serve gas prices in Massachusetts average $2.17 per gallon, putting the state 12 cents below the national average of $2.29. Last year at this time, the average price of gas in the state was 21 cents lower at $1.96.
