'We can't afford it': High gas prices keeping RV owners parked

High gas prices throughout the province is keeping RV owners parked, forcing them to put the brakes on their vacation plans.

Marie Zacharias has a 38-foot RV that can pretty much travel anywhere there is a road. Last summer she moved between different RV parks, but this summer she said the RV will remain parked.

She said gas prices are too high for her and other RV owners.

"I just spoke to one this morning who said, ' We're not taking it anywhere this year. We're going to park it and we're going to fly where we want to go. We can't afford it,'" said Zacharias.

This news isn't surprising to Ken Kornelson, the president of the Town and Country Campground. He said when gas hit $2 a litre last year, many RV owners couldn't afford the price at the pumps.

"We were getting phone calls from people cancelling reservations, saying, 'Sorry, we cannot come. The fuel is just too high. We won't be coming,'" said Kornelson.

Gas isn't as high as last year – currently sitting over $1.60 a litre – but Kornelson fears a similar situation could happen with visitors from outside the province.

Despite the concerns, Johan Arnason with True North Motors and RV in Selkirk said sales are strong.

"We tend to see a lot of our customers staying within the borders of Manitoba," said Arnason.

He said people are interested in lighter campers that can be pulled by cars and SUVs instead of trucks.

"A lot of our customers have not changed whether they're going to purchase an RV or whether they're going camping. It's just maybe where they're going to go."

Kornelson said he is trying to entice Manitoba campers to his campground by building an artificial lake and a new restaurant.

"We have to reinvent our park. So we're going to put in an artificial lake so that we're more attractive to people closer to Winnipeg so they don't have to drive so far," said Kornelson.

In the long run, Kornelson would like to see a small gas tax, saying if it cost less for people to fill up, more people from outside the province and country would return. He believes it would benefit him and the broader tourism industry in Manitoba.