Just the price of a T-Shirt

August 14, 2012 North Myrtle Beach, SC - While gas in the North Strand area has increased by 35.9 cents in a month to $3.395, drivers in the area enjoy better gas prices than most east coast states according to AAA.   A sample of our tourist-draw areas reveals a range of a high of $3.804 per gallon in Cincinnati, Ohio to a low of $3.48 in Knoxville, Tennessee.

But the real story is how the prices have changed in the last month and how likely that change is to impact a family’s decision to drive to North Myrtle Beach for a vacation.

According to Marion Edmonds, spokesman for South Carolina Parks, Recreation and Tourism (SCPRT), gas price are not necessarily good or bad news. SCPRT has looked at the relationship, not just in SC but elsewhere and found that when the changes are not extreme, gas prices do not have an impact.  “But when they are large, people make adjustments – how far they will drive, how many days they will vacation and whether they will go to fancy restaurants.  People integrate it into their planning.”

The costs to travel from our traditional tourism-draw areas are minor, just the difference between letting the kids buy that t-shirt or not.
 
For example, the cost to drive from Akron, Oh in a 20 mpg car at Akron’s prices only increased $13.78 over a month ago; from Cincinnati, OH $12.47; Philadelphia, PA $7.24; Pittsburgh, PA $6.65; Charlotte, NC $3.49; Newark, NJ $7.94; Charleston, WV $8.85 and Knoxville, TN $6.93.

So if you are planning an August trip, come on down, enjoy the sun and fun and the low gas prices!