Holiday’s gas prices might hit a 16-year low
Gasoline prices over Labor Day weekend are expected to be the lowest in 16 years, but the coronavirus pandemic continues to keep travelers close to home.
Heading into the long holiday weekend, the average nationwide price of gas is expected to average $2.19 per gallon, 37 cents lower than last year and the lowest since an average of $1.82 in 2004, according to GasBuddy, a fuel pricetracking website.
In Houston, gas prices have been historically low all summer, with a gallon averaging $1.77, down 64 cents from last summer.
“With Hurricane Laura now
behind us and many refineries returning to service, gas prices will begin to head lower just in time for the Labor Day weekend,” Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, said in a statement. “This will be the lowest Labor Day weekend gas prices since 2004, closing out an incredible summer at the pump with the most stable and lowest overall price from Memorial Day to Labor Day since 2004 as well.”
Gas prices are expected to fall even further as refineries switch from a more expensive summer blend to a cheaper winter blend in the coming weeks.
The low gas prices are a boon to stir-crazy Texans increasingly seeking the great outdoors during the pandemic. More Americans are traveling again after many states lifted restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
Like fuel prices, demand for gas and jet fuel remains historically low. Demand for gas, which plunged about 50 percent in March and April, is down about 15 percent from a year ago. Demand for jet fuel, which plummeted about 80 percent, is down about 60 percent, according to the Energy Information Administration.
The pandemic this summer has travelers booking shorter trips close to home instead of extended vacations in far-flung destinations. In addition, most U.S. travelers seeking to travel internationally were forced to stay stateside this summer as many countries banned Americans because of spiking coronavirus cases across America.
Airlines including United, Air France and Emirates restarted international flights out of Houston airports this week, just more than a month after Bush Intercontinental and Hobby airports recorded a 75 percent annual drop in traffic in July. At the depth of the downturn in April, passenger traffic was down 95 percent from a year earlier, according to Houston Airports.
The airports have added more hand sanitizer stations, installed plexiglass “sneeze guards” at ticket counters and increased cleaning of high-touch areas to reassure air travelers concerned about the virus.
“As (government and travel restrictions) continue to alleviate, we’ll see more services come back,” said Molly Waits, director of air service development at Houston Airports. “In addition, as we see progress with a vaccine and treatment for the pandemic, we’ll see services start to re-initiate.”
Most Texans are hitting the roads instead of heading to the airport this summer. AAA predicted that Americans would take 707 million road trips this summer, down 15 percent from last year and the first decline in summer travel since the 2009 financial crisis. Travelers from Texas and the surrounding states were expected to take 79 million trips this summer, down 13 percent from last summer.
AAA Texas has seen increased interest in state and national parks, particularly Grand Canyon and Yellowstone.
“Road trips allow for families to social distance and be comfortable with traveling,” said Joshua Zuber, AAA Texas spokesman.
Cheaper gas prices and travelers’ preference for road trips helped Galveston weather the coronavirus pandemic this summer better than most inland tourist destinations, said Michael Woody, director of the Galveston Convention and Visitors Bureau. Hotel occupancy and revenue this holiday weekend is expected to be on par with last year, although travel overall this summer is expected to be 25 percent less than in 2019.
Galveston’s beaches — which were closed early in the summer, over Fourth of July weekend and last week ahead of Hurricane Laura — were open for much of the summer, drawing families seeking open-air activities with plenty of space to socially distance. Some families are continuing to book beach homes this fall as many students choose to take online classes, Woody said.
Galveston is attracting travelers from major Texas cities, as well as those in Louisiana and Oklahoma, Woody said. There are more than 30 million people living within a 300-mile radius of Galveston.
“People historically who would have flown somewhere for summer are willing to drive five, eight hours to get to a beach,” Woody said. “As a result of that, our vacation rental homes have had record occupancy this summer and are still seeing that trend going on through the end of August and into September. Having those low gas prices gives families an opportunity to slip away for a weekend.”