These are tough times for travelers

Reinventing the great American road trip
A billion here, a billion there. When you’re talking about the number of miles Americans are driving, it starts to add up — to a lot less. According to the Federal Highway Administration, Americans drove 1.4 billion fewer highway miles in April, a 1.8 percent drop from April 2007. That’s the sixth monthly drop in a row and part of a decline of 30 billion miles over the same six-month period a year earlier. From the price at the pump to long-term travel patterns, the great American road trip may never be the same.

Filling up
At an average national price of $4.06 per gallon this week, gasoline is actually a nickel cheaper than it was a week ago. The reason, though, has less to do with the recent drop in crude oil prices — such ripple effects typically take four to six weeks to show up at the pump — and more to do with the fact that Americans are making serious efforts to change their driving habits.

Whether the price drop represents a hiccup or a harbinger of things to come, it’s already apparent that U.S. demand for gasoline is dropping. According to David Portalatin, an industry analyst with the The NPD Group, consumers currently purchase an average of 57 gallons of gas per month, down from an historical average of 60 gallons. “It’s not a huge number,” says Portalatin, “but when you extrapolate it to 240 million drivers, it’s a pretty significant amount.”

Saving fuel
Like many Americans, David Colmans, a human resources and diversity specialist in Montgomery, Ala., is modifying his travel plans to reflect the new reality. Instead of driving the 450 miles to Disney World as he has in the past, he was planning to load up the family minivan this summer and head for Seagrove Beach on the Florida Panhandle, roughly 150 miles from home. “Generally, Orlando is close enough to drive to,” he says, “but not at these prices.”

And it’s not just the highway miles. Most years, says Colman, the family would go deep-sea fishing a few times and take several day trips to Panama City, 30 miles east, and Destin, 20 miles to the west. “We won’t cut that out completely,” he says, “but we’ll probably cut it in half.”

Going local
Tourism boosters and destination marketers are also adapting to the new reality. “Gas is an enormous incentive this year,” says Marti Mayne, spokesperson for BedandBreakfast.com, an online directory of B&Bs. “People are trying to stay within one tank.” To help, the site’s Tanks a Lot promotion highlights $25–$50 rebates on stays at approximately 200 inns: “Innkeepers are finding it’s one of the most effective marketing tools they’ve seen.”

Meanwhile, some vacation destinations are even seeing a positive bump as travelers scale back. In Wisconsin Dells, for example, resort owners report that average stays are inching upward over last year. “Instead of driving to several destinations, people are choosing one with a variety of activities and making a longer trip out of it,” says Romy Snyder, executive director of the Wisconsin Dells Visitor & Convention Bureau.

Virginia, too, is seeing increased interest from travelers hoping to cut down on their gas expenditures. This summer, the state is promoting Park the Car Getaways that tout cities and other destinations where visitors can forgo driving for the length of their stay. According to Tamra Talmadge-Anderson, spokesperson for the Virginia Tourism Corporation, the online promotion has received 75,000 hits in the last six weeks.

“People can ditch the car and spend two or three days on foot visiting restaurants, shops and museums,” she says. “They can save a ton of money — not put it in the gas tank.”

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