High cost of fuel eats into road trip plans for British Columbians

Record-breaking gas prices are tough for many commuters, and even worse for long road-trippers.

A new survey from the Tire and Rubber Association suggests two-thirds (67 per cent) of British Columbian drivers plan to cancel or scale back road trips because of the high cost of fuel.

That sentiment has the local tourism industry making some adjustments to try to capitalize on close-to-home vacationers.

Tourism Nanaimo on central Vancouver Island expects more people will want to stick to their surrounding region.

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“Our downtown is quite walkable, there are great opportunities along Commercial Street, walking along the harbour front walkway. We also have an easy water taxi to Saysutshun (Newcastle Island) if people are interested in having an Indigenous tourism experience,” says interim Executive Director Jenn Houtby-Ferguson. “All of these are very accessible from Nanaimo and we certainly do expect to see more visitors staying a little closer to home and staying in their own backyard.”

To cater to that, she says they have created new itineraries focusing on the city as a “jumping off point” for other close destinations such as Gabriola Island or Victoria.

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But after two years of the pandemic keeping many people closer to home, Houtby-Ferguson suggests scaling back vacation plans might be a tough decision for some who are eager to escape.

“Gas prices are always a consideration, but really people continue to plan their summer travel. It is one of those things that people will tend to protect,” she tells CityNews.

“We’ve waited a couple of years now for travel and I really believe we will see some people continue to fulfil those travel plans. They may make some modifications once they are in-destination, but I really believe we are going to see our visitors travelling Vancouver Island this summer.”

With the price of gas repeatedly pushing to new record highs in B.C, — currently up to $2.229 per litre in Metro Vancouver — the survey also finds B.C. drivers are fairly pessimistic about fuel costs. Eighty-three per cent believe today’s gas prices are the “new normal” and will be with us for “a long time to come.”