PRINT ADS

High gasoline prices are expected to mean fewer travelers on the road for Memorial Day weekend than last year, the first time in a decade that the number will decrease, according to an AAA forecast issued today.

Nationally, nearly 31.7 million people are expected to travel on the highways, down 1 percent from the 32 million people who drove a year ago.

In the five-state Great Lakes region, including Wisconsin, nearly 5.7 million people are expected to travel during the holiday weekend, also down 1 percent from last year. About 4.8 million of them will drive and they'll pay more for gasoline than a year ago, when the Madison area's average price was $3.246.

Gas prices set new records in Wisconsin and Madison on Wednesday, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report. Statewide, prices rose to $3.817 a gallon for regular while Madison's new record price was $3.80 a gallon.

Record highs also were set Wednesday in Eau Claire, Green Bay, La Crosse, Janesville-Beloit and Milwaukee.

"The prolonged effect of these gas prices is finally starting to take its toll on people's summer travel plans," said Pam Moen of AAA Wisconsin. "If we continue to see a declining trend in subsequent holidays, it could start to adversely affect the state economy and tourism destinations."

Nationally, gas prices rose 2.5 cents to a record $3.758, according to AAA, while light, sweet crude oil for June delivery fell $1.58 to settle at $124.22 a barrel Wednesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Despite the price records set Wednesday, Moen said there are reasons for some optimism. She said a recent forecast by the International Energy Agency indicated global demand is weakening. Supplies have been strong and demand has been declining in the U.S.

"If we see demand drop dramatically and nothing else goes wrong, we may not see prices continue to rise into the summer," she said.

Besides highway travelers, about 4.4 million people nationally will travel by air during the Memorial Day weekend, down 0.5 percent from a year ago, according to AAA. Among the Great Lakes travelers, 384,000 will fly.

Gas prices won't be the only added expense for Memorial Day travelers. Car rental rates are expected to climb and some hotel rates also will be higher, according to AAA's Leisure Travel Index.