Gas prices won’t affect Memorial Day weekend travel plans, Americans say

JERMYN, Pa. – Most Americans who spoke with Fox News said they wouldn’t change their Memorial Day weekend plans despite record-high gas prices impacting their budgets.

“You just got to bite the bullet and just do it,” a Philadelphia native, Eric, said at a pit stop during his trip to the Adirondacks. “I’m still doing it.”

But a New Jersey resident, Kathy, said she was limiting her travel.

“We’re only going down for Memorial Day itself,” she said of her planned visit to the Jersey Shore. “The rest of the weekend we’re staying around because the gas prices are making us stay home.”

HIGH GAS PRICES WON’T DETER MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND TRAVEL, AAA EXEC SAYS

“Spending extra money anywhere else is pretty much not gonna happen,” Kathy continued.

Gas prices have repeatedly broken records throughout 2022. The national average was $4.59 dollars per gallon on Friday – one cent lower than the record high set Thursday, according to AAA.

Still, AAA estimated that there would be nearly 35 million people on the roads over the holiday weekend, a 1.5 million increase from 2021.

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Travelers told Fox News they felt strain from high gas prices, but wouldn’t let them ruin their plans. One couple said they were trying to add travelers to split the price in an attempt to lower their total gas price. 

“We were trying to recruit people to drive with us that we normally wouldn’t want to sit in a car with for 8 hours,” Kim, of Brooklyn, said. “I’m modifying my behavior because of it.”

But Andy, who was traveling with Kim, said the high gas prices were “not as big a deal” since he doesn’t drive every day. 

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Edward, a raspberry farmer from New York, was working the holiday weekend and had to drive 350 miles. He said he “got no choice” but to pay more to travel.

“The raspberries got to get watered and all that other stuff,” Edward told Fox News. “I just got to save a lot more.”