Across the country gas prices rose by two cents reaching a national average of $3.53 per gallon. Experts in the Last Frontier said they expect fuel price increases in the upcoming months, which may have a negative impact on the tourism industry.

As summer approaches the temperature increases, which draws people out of their homes and into their cars. As the temperature increases so does the cost of gas.

On Tuesday crude oil topped out at a new record high, coming in above $119.00 a barrel. With rates like that, economic forecasters have suggested that gas prices could spike to as high as $4.00 a gallon this summer.

Customers are already feeling pain at the pump and have been for awhile now. AAA reported Alaska's average gas price to be about $3.72 per gallon. 16-months-ago the average was at $2.41.

Nelson Garett of Garetts Tesoro gas station said the station's business decreased by 10-percent within the past year. He said people are driving less, and as he predicts people will be doing even less driving, "I could see it maybe going up to $3.89 - $3 99 and people are only going to go fishing once a month instead of once a week. People are cutting way back for unnecessary driving."

According to Garett 90-percent of his customers pay for gas with credit, and after credit card companies charge a transaction fee to the station, the station's net profit comes to about one percent.

Bill Sleeper of Alaska Vehicle Transport said, "Basically the fuel surcharge has increased. I believe ours is in line with everyone else it runs about 25 percent that they added on to the rates and it just gets passed right down to the consumer."

Experts claim that within the past four weeks national gas demands have decreased by 0.5-percent as compared to the previous year.

Nationally the states that are suffering from the greatest increase are Alaska, Illinois, Michigan, Georgia and West Virginia.