All through the winter in this Cincinnati suburb, Megan and Keith Licursi eagerly looked forward to their annual spring vacation: A road trip to Orlando to see family and bask in the sunshine. But with gas prices nudging $4 a gallon and recession fears fueling consumer uncertainty, the couple decided to stay home.
So have some of their neighbors. Those in the group of 20- and 30-something friends say they are spending less time on the road in their gas-guzzling SUVs or mini-vans—which are big enough to haul kids, a weekend’s worth of toys and diapers and coolers filled with juice and snacks.
Recently, the Licursis and their friends gathered to map out ways to be on vacation without spending much.
“It’s not that we all don’t want to go on vacation,” said Megan Licursi, 30, who runs a small public-relations firm. “We just have to be smarter about how we relax.”
