In spite of high gas prices, San Diego tourism anticipates a big year

Saturday, March 12, 2022

In spite of rising gas prices, experts say that the tourism industry of San Diego is in a unique position to endure the tough situation.

“It’s actually not going to be as bad as you’d think,” says Carl Winston, Director of San Diego State University’s L. Robert Payne School of Hospitality & Tourism Management.

Winston also explains that the tourist destinations that are expected to get impacted in the worst ways are those that require long drives or flights for most travelers. Nevertheless, he says the biggest segment of visitors coming to San Diego is from locations that are not especially far away.

“Driving all the way across country or flying all the way across country just got a lot more expensive, but San Diego is just 100 miles from Los Angeles. Its a few gallons of gas to get here and home. Historically, the data don’t suggest that will be terrible for us,” said Winston.

Bob Rauch, a local hotel owner, says that tourism is now back to the levels of pre-pandemic situation and he does not expect this rise in gas prices slowing the travel boom in any way.

“I know some people have referred to it as revenge travel. I think it’s really just people wanting to get out, see family, see friends, make trips to visit places, take their kids places,” said Rauch.

Rauch also mentioned that his hotels in San Diego have not witnessed any impact due to gas price rise with family travelers from Los Angeles, Northern California, Las Vegas, and Phoenix still booking road trip vacations to visit local beaches.

While the sharp rise in the price of gas will stretch travel budgets, Rauch doesn’t expect an extra $40 or $60 will be a deal-breaker in any way.

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