KANSAS CITY. MO — Millions of Americans are expected to hit the highways and airports this Labor Day weekend as COVID-19 safety restrictions continue to ease across the country and drivers pay less at the pumps.
“It’s a lot, it is. But I also think it’s just one of those things that we realize where we’ve come from," Amy Perdue, who plans to travel to New York for Labor Day weekend, said. "We just came out of a pandemic not too long ago and I think it’s just a reality."
Local economist, Larry Wigger, says even with the drop in recent gas prices, it is still 60 cents more per gallon than this time last year.
Not to mention, air travel is still out of the question for many people as ticket prices have not dropped much.
Regardless, this is not deterring travelers from going to where they want.
“I think everyone is just trying to find a new normal and kind of balance between what we used to do and what we kind of have to do now,” Zach Ferguson said.
Wigger says consumer demand for travel and fuel is still down 20% compared to last year, but it is important to consider there are certain things people will not sacrifice like family time. This makes consumer behavior hard to predict.
“Maybe they delayed a family vacation across the summer," he said. "But suddenly gas is a dollar cheaper, let’s hop in a car and go somewhere before the kids are back in school."
Wigger predicts it is going to be an interesting fall for travelers.
The war in Ukraine is going to have a big impact on things like airfare and the price of gas, making it hard to say right now where those numbers are headed.
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