Holiday travelers unhampered by gas prices

Evan Stevens wasn't worried about the recreational rental business he manages surviving Memorial Day weekend.

Filling up the Jet Skis, boats and ATVs at Rental Toys in Lindon, along with the gas required for the cars that pull them, has become quite costly. But that didn't hinder renters of the recreational vehicles last weekend.

"Our warehouse was empty the whole weekend," said Stevens. "If we'd had any more to rent we would have rented those too."

Despite current gas prices averaging out at $3.275 per unleaded regular gallon, Utahns stuck with their plans and traveled the state, according to anecdotal evidence from the Utah Office of Tourism..

"(The weekend was) as busy as anybody can remember," said Kevin Poe, public information officer of Bryce Canyon National Park. "Big weekend in spite of gas prices."

The AAA predicted that over 346,000 Utahns would travel more than 50 miles over the holiday weekend, a 1.6 percent increase from last year. This may have to do with the $1 million increase to Utah tourism advertising for the summer. Since the advertising campaign launched in March, Web-site hits, phone calls and requests for travel guides and brochures all rose with the summer temperatures.

However, not all popular tourist spots found favor among travelers last weekend. Capitol Reef National Park, for example, experienced a decline of 5 percent from last year. Park officials attribute this to either gas prices or the heavy volume of travelers in the park the weekend before.

Moab told a different tale.

"Our estimations are that we were full," said Marian DeLay, executive director of tourism over Grand County Travel, where Moab is located. "We didn't see any vacancy signs whatsoever."

Keenan and Nonie Reesor traveled from Logan to St. George, more than 750 miles round-trip. The Reesors spent about $75 in gas for the trip. Gas prices did not intimidate them from taking their planned vacation.

"Gas isn't so high that we are unable to pay," Keenan Reesor said. "It's higher than we'd like to pay, but we're just going anyway."

The Utah Office of Tourism predicts that gas prices will keep Utahns within the boundaries of the state.

"We anticipate, with the increase in gas prices, that Utahns will stick a little closer to home," said Tracie Cayford, deputy director of the Utah Office of Tourism. "This might be a great summer for them to visit their own back yard."

Leigh von der Esch, managing director of the office traveled down to Torrey this weekend and felt it worth the extra $22 she paid for gas.

"In the grand scheme of things the value of traveling in Utah completely offsets the $10 or $20 difference in gas," said von der Esch.

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E-mail: amarshall@desnews.com