Motorists might see higher gas prices than they’re accustomed to but that hasn’t stopped them from coming to Hampton Roads.
“We have not seen a downturn in visitation,” said Rebecca Cutchins, media relations manager at the Newport News Tourism office. “We’ve had a steady stream of tourists when it comes to visitation.”
Cutchins said according to what she’s seeing, the visitation numbers have been comparable to last year.
In 2017, Newport News had a 65 percent hotel occupancy rate and collected more than $3 million in room taxes.
Cutchins said her office won’t receive the 2018 report until the end of the year.
VDOT traffic statistics have echoed the sentiments of the Newport News tourism office. Brittany Nichols, media representative from VDOT, said traffic counts on Interstate 64 in Newport News have actually increased this year compared to last year despite the increase in gas prices.
“If you compare the traffic counts from May 1 until June 12 for both 2017 and 2018 there were 6,035,926 drivers in 2017 and in 2018 there were 6,226,464 drivers. The traffic actually increased this year,” Nichols said.
Gas prices in Hampton Roads currently sit near $2.68, the highest mark since 2014.
“Gas prices continue to dip across the commonwealth but remain more expensive than last summer,” said Georjeane Blumling, vice president of public affairs for AAA Tidewater Virginia.
If gas inventories continue to grow, drivers could see lower prices at the pump. The United States is producing 1.5 million more barrels of oil per day than in June 2017, according to AAA.
However, prices are expected to remain volatile for the next week.
Global gas supply is shrinking, and turmoil in Venezuela is contributing to the problem. Additionally, OPEC will decide at its next meeting on June 22 whether or not to increase production.
No matter what takes place nationally, it seems that Hampton Roads motorists have not been deterred when it comes to summer travel.
