Local businesses brace for $3-a-gallon gasoline

Thursday, 20 April 2006

It was almost there Wednesday.

By BRIAN HORN
brianhorn@sanduskyregister.com

As the price for regular gasoline creeps toward $3 a gallon, tourist areas may be hit hard this summer. Those who do travel may be penny-pinching more so than past years, and some may decide to stay home all together.

From Tuesday to Wednesday, the price of regular gas jumped a dime to about $2.90 for most Sandusky-area gas stations.

According to executive vice president of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, Tom Stewart, gas could climb to $3 a gallon depending on regional factors.

"If it's $3 at the pump, it's really not three dollars. It's more like $2.55 because you can't burn taxes in your car," he said. "There's a lot of exterior factors that can make that gasoline move to $3. One of them being, could a hurricane do damage again?"

Whether prices for gas hit the $3 dollar mark this summer, Cedar Point officials already have prepared by lowering admission prices.

"Unfortunately, we can't change the gas price, but what we can do is make Cedar Point more affordable for families," Bryan Edwards, Cedar Point spokesman, said.

But not everyone is fearing a drop in customer traffic.

Jayme Criscione of Ghostly Manor said she anticipates a jump in the number of thrill seekers this summer. She said the business has seen an increase every year, and expects the trend to continue.

"People still are looking for something to do, especially from Detroit or Cleveland," she said. "Especially when it's not that far and it's not going to cost them that much money."

The area is also more affordable for tourists compared to other vacation destinations, Criscione said.

"I think they are going to come here vs. somewhere else," she said.

Joan Van Offeren, executive director the Sandusky/Erie County Visitors Convention Bureau, said the higher gas prices might bring travelers from Ohio's neighboring states to the Sandusky-area, instead of them driving or flying to a far-away Disneyland. She said the bureau is funded by an overnight lodging tax, so they are mainly seeking visitors coming from a distance that would require an overnight stay.

"It could potentially be to our benefit," she said of the higher gas prices. "The experience of the shoreline that we have here, that sometimes they seek out at the ocean, at a lesser expense."

Kim Rubin, Sandusky Mall marketing director, said those who do make it to the area for a vacation will still do some shopping.

"If people are still willing to travel and come out and visit, obviously they're going to set aside some money to go shopping," she said.

By Jan 2007, prices may drop back to more of a reasonable cost, at least for this day and age, according to Stewart. Right now, the gasoline contract for Jan 2007 is trading at $1.94, he said.

"What that tells you is, going out to the future, people who make a living trading these contracts don't believe gasoline is going to spike like what you're seeing from the government sources and what other people tell you," he said.

Stewart said the gasoline contract for May is at $2.25, before adding in taxes and other regional factors.

Gas in the Sandusky area is traditionally a dime more expensive than surrounding areas, though Stewart said there are factors that should make gas cheaper in Sandusky and Northwest Ohio.

"In Sandusky or in Northwest Ohio, you are very close to the refining points for the gasoline," he said. "You would think there would be some benefit to that because they don't have to travel as far to take it from the refinery and put it into the gasoline station's tanks."

FunCoast.com is your online guide to summer fun for Cedar Point, the LakeErie Islands and Sandusky area. Our site offers up-to-date information on area attractions, restaurants, hotels, gasoline prices, ferry schedules, swimming, birding and fishing, along with a complete listing of events happening in the Sandusky/Cedar Point area. To use our Webcam and zoom in on Cedar Point's rollercoasters, go to http://funcam.funcoast.com

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