Increasing conflict involving Iran is impacting drivers in North Carolina as the state begins Tourism Week.
Gas prices increased by 31 cents per gallon this week, bringing the national average to $4.48 per gallon. According to data from AAA gas prices in Wake County currently range between $4.17 and $4.92 per gallon, depending on the location, while the state average is hovering around $4.12 per gallon.
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State tourism officials say the effect of higher gas prices goes beyond the fuel pump. Wit Tuttell, executive director of Visit North Carolina, says perception plays a major role in how people respond to rising fuel costs.
“The psychological impact is big and it causes people to rethink whether they’re going to take the trip, or how long they are going to stay, or how much they are going to spend while they are here," Tuttell said.
According to Christopher Chung, CEO of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, visitors who traveled to the state spent $37 billion in just one year. Tuttell, however, said hesitation at the pump could ripple across the state.
“It’s about $2.7 billion that tourist leave in the state every year and if we don’t have that for many of these communities they are going to face a serious fiscal crisis,” says Tuttell.
The price of crude oil, which is the main ingredient in gasoline, has been climbing for most of the past two months because the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passage of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil normally passes, has effectively been shut, and oil tankers have been stranded there unable to deliver crude.
One event that could have changed the trajectory of gasoline prices occurred in April, when the U.S. blocked Iranian ports to stop the country from exporting oil. President Donald Trump says the temporary rise in gas prices is necessary as in the United States's conflict with Iran.
"It's a really small price to pay to get a nuclear weapon away from people who are really mentally deranged," Trump said.
Who sets gas prices?
Gas station owners set prices at the pump, but a lot of factors go into what they decide to charge.
The main ingredient in the cost of gasoline is the price of a barrel of crude oil. In the U.S., oil prices represented about 51% of the price of a gallon of gasoline in 2025, according to the Energy Information Administration.
That means when crude oil prices rise, gasoline prices generally follow. Less oil on the market means higher prices for oil and gasoline. And the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz triggered the largest supply disruption in the history of oil markets, according to the International Energy Agency, pushing oil prices as high as $112 a barrel in early April.
How will it get resolved?
No one can predict how high gasoline prices will climb. A gallon of regular in the U.S. costs more now than it did in early May of 2022, and back then, the price kept climbing through Memorial Day, AAA said.
Tuttell says North Carolina has historically held up well during similar spikes in gas prices, largely due to its affordability and accessibility.
“In the past, when we have seen things like high gas or other economic challenges, North Carolina fares is pretty well because we are not expensive, we are easy to get to, and we are known to be a good value," said Tuttell.
As prices continue to fluctuate, the question remains whether higher costs will significantly change travel plans. To find out more information about North Carolina Tourism Week and to find lost cost destinations, click here.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.