Newswise — As the Memorial Day weekend approaches, individuals and families across the U.S. are planning their holiday trips and summer vacations. With gas prices at an all-time high, many consumers are putting more thought than ever into mapping out long distance trips, causing summer vacations to take on a whole new meaning. Central Michigan University economist Philip Thompson is available to comment on the issue.
A few of Thompson's initial thoughts on the subject:
"¢ "A combination of factors on both the demand and supply sides of the oil market, along with the recent loss in the value of the dollar in international currency markets, have caused the recent increase in oil and gasoline prices and will likely keep them in the same range for at least the duration of the summer."
"¢ "Consumers won't just stop driving, but higher prices will make them change behavior in the short run, and if the high prices persist, in the long run as well. Of all of a household's uses of gasoline, long-road vacations are as likely to be cut as any other uses, but since vacation driving is a bit of a luxury for most people and because the cost can be steep, it will be one of the first things cut from their budgets."
"¢ "The price of gas will cause people to either decide to stay home or drive to a closer destination, one in-state, for example."
Thompson is an authority on energy and regulatory economics. His research has been in the areas of residential energy efficiency, residential demand for natural gas, and oil and gasoline price fluctuations. He also can speak about microeconomics, industrial organization and energy economics.
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