Internet travel service priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN) released the results of its 4th annual survey of the 50 most-popular destinations for the upcoming Independence Day week.
The survey is based on more than 30,000 hotel room booking requests made by priceline.com customers for check-in between June 29 and July 4. Because the survey is based on actual booking activity, and not on consumer preference polls or votes, Priceline.com believes the annual survey is one of the more accurate predictors of July 4th travel trends.
Consistent with last year, Chicago, Las Vegas, and New York City are the most popular spots for the July 4th week, making up the top seven destinations in the list. Chicago's Millennium Park area has made the #1 spot on the list for the second year running, and the Las Vegas Strip has moved up from spot #5 in 2006 to spot #2 this year. New York neighborhoods took 4 of the top 10 spots, which is consistent with last year's findings.
Internationally, London grew in popularity this year, taking three spots on the list (#12, #31, #32), compared to only one spot (#35) in 2006. This may be due to the holiday falling mid-week, prompting vacationers to extend their vacations, rather than taking just a long weekend.
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One surprise on this year's list was the first-time appearance of Milwaukee in the #38 spot. This may be due to Summerfest 2007, an 11-day music festival on the shores of Lake Michigan. Also new to the list, appearing at #45, is Williamsburg, a great family destination with the Busch Gardens and Colonial Williamsburg attractions. The Meadowlands/Jersey City area also made its way to #11 on the list. The New Jersey destination now has appeared on several priceline.com Top 50 lists thanks to New York visitors who want the excitement of nearby Manhattan without paying big city hotel prices.
For the beach lovers, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Virginia Beach, Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head Island and Key West also round out the list.
The Priceline Top 50 Destinations List for July 4th 2007
1 Chicago, Millennium Park
2 Las Vegas, Strip Vicinity
3 New York City, Upper Midtown
4 Chicago, North Michigan Ave.
5 New York City, SoHo
6 New York City, Midtown East
7 New York City, Midtown West
8 Vancouver
9 San Diego, Coastal
10 Seattle, Downtown
11 Newark, Meadowlands
12 London, Regents Park
13 Oahu, Waikiki Beach
14 Montreal
15 Washington DC, White House/Downtown
16 Niagara Falls, St. Catharines
17 Boston, Downtown/Charlestown
18 Orange County, Disneyland Area
19 Boston, Copley
20 Orlando, Universal Studios/Sea World
21 Las Vegas, Convention Center
22 San Antonio, Downtown/Riverwalk
23 San Francisco, Union Square West
24 San Diego, Downtown/Harbor Island
25 San Francisco, Union Square East
26 San Diego, Point Loma/Shelter Island/Old Town
27 Philadelphia, Downtown
28 Oahu, Waikiki Marina Area
29 Orlando, Disney World Vicinity
30 San Antonio, Medical Center
31 London, Bloomsbury/Marble Arch
32 London, Mayfair/Soho
33 Toronto, Markham
34 San Francisco, Fisherman's Wharf
35 Puerto Rico, San Juan
36 Los Angeles, Central/Hollywood
37 Virginia Beach
38 Milwaukee, Downtown
39 Myrtle Beach
40 Seattle, Airport Area
41 Hilton Head Island
42 Orange County, Costa Mesa/Irvine
43 Toronto, Downtown
44 San Diego, East County
45 Williamsburg, Williamsburg Historic/Busch Gardens
46 Seattle, Lake Union
47 Key West
48 Las Vegas, West of Strip
49 San Diego, Coronado
50 Los Angeles, LAX Area
