Sunshine Matters

With gas prices on the rise, many people are asking how this might affect travel in the Sunshine State going into the spring and summer tourism season.  If recent trends are any indication, the visitors will keep coming.

When looking at the number of non-air visitors to the state (primarily drive), VISIT FLORIDA research shows there is no correlation between an increase in gas prices and a decrease in visitors.  In past, it has been shown that consumers will usually make cutbacks at home or in other areas of their vacation to compensate for the increase in gas prices before they will cancel their trip. For instance, they may eat out less, stay in less expensive lodging or do fewer activities.  

A 2005 study by VISIT FLORIDA showed that 47 percent of consumers surveyed expected to make trade-offs in order to make their trip affordable.  The trade-off most likely to occur, expressed by 30 percent of those interviewed, was the expectation of eating in less expensive restaurants.  Sixteen percent said they would look for less expensive lodging.  One in five respondents (22 percent) said they would have to cut vacation costs somewhere, but they were not sure yet where that would be.

Despite higher gas prices, we expect domestic leisure travel to continue to increase both nationally and in Florida in spring and summer.