Memorial Day weekend marks the start of the busy season at the Lake of the Ozarks, one of Missouri’s top summer destinations. But with higher gas prices, questions remain about turnout this year.

Missouri Division of Tourism Director Stephen Foutes says travelers do have concerns about fuel costs.

“And so very often they might think about all the trips they’re going to take in a year and kind of prioritize those and determine maybe toward the middle of the summer at the end of the summer, let’s scale back on trip B for a day or two and let’s invest a little bit more here into trip A,” Foutes says

Triple-A says Missouri gas prices were around $2.87 a gallon over Memorial Day weekend last year, compared to more than $4.20 a gallon this year.

 With that in mind, Foutes says the busy season is here for the Lake of the Ozarks region.

“We know that travelers do have some concerns about gas prices. At the same time, what we find is people want to take a break,” Foutes explains.  “The Lake of the Ozarks is one of Missouri’s most popular destinations. I would anticipate that we’ll see a lot of boats on the water this weekend.”

Despite higher gas prices, Foutes says many travelers are still planning trips this summer—but they may be adjusting how long they stay or how often they travel.

Missourinet