Falling gas prices probably won’t boost holiday travel

The Portland Tribune, Nov 18, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (3 Reader comments)

The price of gasoline is falling, and Thanksgiving Day holiday travel might drop as well.

AAA Oregon reported Tuesday that the average cost of a gallon of regular gasoline dropped 16 cents to $2.22 this past week, the lowest it’s been since March 2006.

Nationally, the average price is down to $2.07 a gallon.

“Both averages are about a dollar lower than they were a year ago, and are about 50 percent lower than the record highs of more than $4 a gallon we set in July,” said Marie Dodds, AAA Oregon public affairs manager.

The price of diesel also fell a bit in Oregon, dropping to about $3 a gallon, the lowest it’s been since September 2007.

Low crude oil prices are driving the cost of gasoline down, Dodds said. Crude is trading at about $55 per barrel, down from around $59 a barrel last week.

Even as gasoline prices drop, AAA Oregon still expects a small decline in the number of people traveling during the Thanksgiving Day holiday weekend. About 41 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home during the holiday, a decrease of 600,000 travelers (1.4 percent) from last year’s 41.6 million travelers, according to AAA Oregon.

“This is the first decline in Thanksgiving holiday travel since 2002 and is the fourth consecutive travel holiday this year with a year-to-year decline in the number of travelers,” Dodds said.

A tough economy could be to blame for the slight decrease, Dodds said.

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