Gas prices won't change spring travel plans for many, survey says With the average price of a gallon of gas in the Los Angeles area about 42 cents higher than it was a year ago, many Southern Californians are cutting back on unnecessary driving but most are going ahead with spring-break travel plans. Two-thirds of Southlanders surveyed by the Auto Club of Southern California said higher gasoline prices have affected their household budget but 57% said they plan to take a leisure trip this spring anyway, compared with 55% who said they planned to travel last spring. The average price for a regular gallon of gasoline in the L.A. region is $4.39, compared with $3.97 last year at this time, according to the Auto Club. That is still below the record high of $4.64 per gallon for the area in June of 2008. The survey of 623 Auto Club members released Monday shows that Southern Californians are changing their spending habits to compensate for the higher fuel prices, but most won't let it interrupt their spring vacation plans. Of those area residents who said high fuel prices have affected their budget, 81% said they are cutting back on unnecessary driving, 55% said they plan to eat out at restaurants less and 48% said they plan to spend less money on entertainment. But only 29% of those who said gas prices were a problem said they planned to cut back on spending for spring trips, compared to 34% who said last year that they planned to spend less on spring travel, according to the survey. "One reason we may not be seeing a big increase in budget concerns from last year related to high gas prices is that even though they've climbed almost 75 cents since Jan. 1, prices were close to $4 during most of last year and so far, they've stayed below that next crucial benchmark of $4.50," said Auto Club spokesperson Jeffrey Spring. Also, we are hearing anecdotally from members that the rebound of the stock market has improved their budget outlook. In fact, the survey found that fewer Southern Californians plan to spend $500 or less on leisure travel during spring and significantly more plan to spend $2,001 to $3,000 for travel. Mexico sets tourism record despite drug violence Hawaii sees a bigger wave of tourists L.A. breaks tourism record with 27 million visitors in 2011