<p>NEW YORK — Memorial Day weekend gasoline prices are at their highest levels in seven years, but experts don’t expect the steep prices at the pumps to keep eager motorists off the road.</p>
<p>After more than a year of caution during the coronavirus pandemic, there’s pent-up demand for travel. And with vaccination rates increasing and coronavirus cases falling, some people are seizing the opportunity for a change of scenery during what has traditionally been one of America’s busiest holiday travel weekends.</p>
<p>“The industry is referring it to as ‘revenge travel,’” said Jeanette McGee, spokeswoman for the American Automobile Association. “People have more discretionary income, they’ve got a lot of PTO (paid time off) saved up, so they’re going to take more trips and spend more money.”</p>
<p>The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.03 this week. Memorial Day weekend prices have not been this high since 2014, when they averaged $3.65 a gallon.</p>
<p>Prices recently had been slightly higher than the current average, due in part to fuel delivery problems caused by a cyberattack and then shutdown of a major fuel artery, the Colonial Pipeline. Gasoline prices have largely stabilized since that hacking incident, but prices are expected to remain in the $3-per-gallon range during the summer, experts say.</p>
<p>The vaccine rollout has encouraged a gradual return to normal activities, and a strong labor market is supporting work-related driving, but discretionary driving has room to grow, said Lenny Rodriguez, team lead at S&P Global Platts. </p>
<p>AAA anticipates that 37 million Americans will travel by car and plane on Memorial Day weekend. That’s up 60% from last year, when many were cautious about the pandemic and stayed home. But it is still 13% below pre-pandemic travel levels reached during 2019’s Memorial Day weekend.</p>
<p>The association recommends filling up the gas tank before arriving at vacation destinations, because gasoline prices can be higher around popular tourist spots.</p>
