Gas prices are nearing record highs across the country, but local tourism officials don’t think it will have a big impact on summer visitors.
In Windsor-Essex, the price of regular unleaded is about a $1.27 a litre.That is short of the record $1.40 set last summer in southwestern Ontario.
There's a new survey that shows these high gas prices are weighing on the minds of many Canadians.
The survey, commissioned by CTV News, found that 38 per cent of Canadians are worried and 32 per cent are somewhat worried about rising fuel costs. Thirty per cent said they are somewhat not worried or not worried about gas price increases.
Canadians are split, the survey found, on whether they think Canadians will decide to drive less during the summer because of the rising costs of fuel. Thirty-eight per cent of them said Canadians are somewhat likely to drive less and 11 per cent said they were likely to do so.
Twenty-eight per cent said Canadians are somewhat unlikely to drive less and 22 per cent responded that Canadians are unlikely to cut down on the amount of driving they do during the summer.
Heading into the prime summer season, the rising price of gas isn't worrying Tourism Windsor-Essex Pelee Island officials.
“Right now the economy is doing well, our unemployment is low and the cost of gas is high but at the end of the day, it's high across the province of Ontario,” says Gordon Orr, TWEPI executive director.
Orr doesn't expect pain at the pumps to keep people from visiting the region.
“A good chunk of our visitation is U.S.-based,” says Orr. “The cost of gas doesn't even affect them. On our side of the border, the primary purpose for people to usually visit Windsor-Essex is because they want to visit friends and family and relatives, so they're going to do that regardless of the price of gas.”
With files from CTVNews.ca.
