Road trips and Razorbacks in Labor Day forecast

FAYETTEVILLE -- The Labor Day weekend has many people in Northwest Arkansas planning one last summer road trip or gearing up for Razorback football.

Whatever their plans, people seem to be getting back to pre-pandemic levels of mobility, according to people in several segments of the travel and hospitality business.

Billy Deatherage, owner of Ambassador Transportation Services, said Friday his business has been picking up throughout the summer. His services include a shuttle to and from Northwest Arkansas National Airport, as well as transportation by limousine, taxi, SUV, minivan and bus.

"Last year was covid," Deatherage said. "This year, it's been getting better, it's been pretty busy. The past two months have been busy as heck. I guess everybody's ready to travel."

Deatherage said his clients are split about 50-50 between business travelers and others. He said a football weekend in Fayetteville changes the demand for services. The Razorbacks are set to open their 2021 season today against Rice University.

"For football games, it's more big groups, six people or more," Deatherage said. "It's always busy, but this year I'm getting lots of people wanting to go to the Texas game. I've had five or six calls in the past couple of weeks about that game."

Michael Cheval, manager of the War Eagle Marina on Beaver Lake, said the Razorback game will likely diminish his business this weekend. Cheval said the normal summer season runs from Memorial Day through Labor Day. He said business has been good this year and didn't drop off much after the covid-19 pandemic began in 2020. The marina offers boat slip rentals, fuel and some small amenities for customers, like drinks and snacks.

"It didn't really affect us that much," Cheval said. "It wasn't quite as busy last year, but it's still been busy. Usually in the summer, there's not much going on so people will get out on the lake. With a football game, you've got 80,000 people or so wanting to go to the game and other people at home grilling."

For people planning a road trip, the American Automobile Association has good news and bad news about gas prices.

Nick Chabarria, with the AAA office covering Arkansas and Missouri, said as of Friday, the statewide average of gas prices in Arkansas is the fourth lowest among the 50 states. Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, Kentucky and Tennessee are among the 10 lowest for average gas prices, he said.

According to the association's website, the national average price for gas is $3.18. In Arkansas, the average price is $2.84. Chabarria cautioned travelers that, if they drive through areas in Louisiana, Mississippi and other states hit by Hurricane Ida, gasoline may be more expensive or difficult to find.

"I'd say, to people in Arkansas, if you're traveling out of state you want to fill up before you leave home or at least before you leave the state," he said.

Chabarria said the association hasn't done a Labor Day travel forecast this year but said the trend for 2021 shows people getting out more and more, and most of their travel is by car.

"From what we've seen, the road trip reigns," Chabarria said. "Our estimate is that 90% of all travel is done by car."

Chabarria said overall, travel bookings have increased during 2021 and in some cases surpassed 2019 numbers.

"Folks want to get out," Chabarria said. "They're ready to get out and they want to travel."

Brian Shelton, manager of the Pilot Travel Center at 5660 W. Sunset Ave. in Springdale, said Friday morning he hadn't seen many people preparing for long road trips.

"Today's usually the day you see people start getting out," Shelton said. "Overall, we've had mostly local traffic."

J.R. Shaw, executive director of Visit Rogers, said the travel and hospitality industry has changed during the covid-19 pandemic, with people tending to take shorter trips, usually staying within three or four hours of home. He said Northwest Arkansas has fared well in those circumstances because of the region's variety of attractions and travel destinations.

"We've got great opportunities for outdoor recreation," Shaw said. "We've got Beaver Lake. We've got trails. We've got Lake Atalanta. We've got mountain biking. Then there's Crystal Bridges and shows at the AMP. We've got food, craft beers and festivals."