Gas prices will not slow down travel

Rising gasoline should not deter leisure US travelers this spring and summer, says the Southeast Tourism Society. A separate PricewaterhouseCoopers study agreed. “The reason is that any price hike for gas is a minor part of a vacation’s total budget,” said Bill Hardman, president and CEO of the tourism society which promotes travel in an 11-state region. He cited the example of a trip of 1,000 miles in a vehicle that gets 25 miles to the gallon. “A gasoline price increase of 10 cents a gallon adds $4 to that trip,” he said. “That’s not enough to make someone forfeit a vacation.” PricewaterhouseCoopers predicted a rise in summer travel from last year. Report by David Wilkening