The big surprise this year is the emergence of New Orleans' downtown/convention center area as the #1 July 4th destination. This is the first time New Orleans is in the top spot for the holiday and could signal the completion of the city's comeback as a tourist mecca following Hurricane Katrina.
Priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN) today released the results of its 6th annual survey of the 50 most-popular destinations for the upcoming Independence Day weekend. The survey is based on more than 30,000 hotel room booking requests made by customers using priceline.com's Name Your Own Price(R) hotel reservation service. Because the survey is based on credit card-backed booking requests, 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.
Commenting on the survey, priceline.com's in-house 'Travel Ekspert' Brian Ek said, 'The big surprise this year is the emergence of New Orleans' downtown/convention center area as the #1 July 4th destination. This is the first time New Orleans is in the top spot for the holiday and could signal the completion of the city's comeback as a tourist mecca following Hurricane Katrina.'
Looking at the rest of the list, Ek commented, 'Travel trends for the upcoming long weekend are reflective of the economy and the holiday itself. The list is heavy in destinations that are reachable by car for large segments of the population. Given the cold, wet weather in the eastern half of the country, I was a bit surprised to see so many beach destinations on the list. However, a blanket and a good book do make for a cheap getaway, assuming the weather cooperates. With some smaller communities not being able to afford fireworks this year, the big cities with their free or low-cost holiday events are indicating strong turnouts.'
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In New York City, July 4th visitors can look forward to Macy's fireworks display, a concert in Battery Park and Nathan's annual hot dog eating competition. Chicago is hosting Blues Fest 2009, the Grand Park Music Festival and fireworks at Navy Pier. Boston has the 6-day long Harborfest celebration with fireworks featuring the Boston Pops and Neil Diamond. Disney resorts will be hosting fireworks in Orlando. New Orleans is featuring its 'Go 4th On The River' festival. And Washington, DC, will have the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, concert at the Washington Monument, an Independence Day parade and fireworks on the National Mall.
Priceline www.priceline.com said it still has hotel rooms, airline tickets, vacation packages, rental cars and cruises available for the long weekend, often at significant discounts over other online travel reservation services.
The Priceline Top 50 Destinations List for July 4th 2009
1 New Orleans, Downtown/Convention Center
2 Las Vegas, Strip Vicinity South
3 Chicago, Millennium Park/Loop/Grant Park Area
4 New York City, Times Square/Theater District
5 Seattle, Downtown/Pike Place
6 San Diego, Coastal Area
7 Chicago, North Michigan Avenue/River North Area
8 New Orleans, French Quarter
9 Washington, DC, White House/Downtown
10 Boston, Copley Square/Theater District
11 Montreal
12 San Francisco, Union Square West/Nob Hill
13 San Diego, Downtown & Harbor Island
14 San Diego, Point Loma/Shelter Island/Old Town
15 Las Vegas, Strip Vicinity North
16 St. Catharines, Niagara Falls
17 San Antonio, Downtown/Riverwalk
18 Orange County, Disneyland Area
19 Boston, Harbor Front/Aquarium
20 Orlando, Universal Studios/Sea World Area
21 Newport (RI), Goat Island/Newport & Newport Beach
22 Vancouver, Downtown
23 New York City, Empire State Building Area
24 Philadelphia, Downtown
25 Virginia Beach
26 New York City, Midtown East
27 Monterey, Monterey/Pacific Grove
28 Oahu, Waikiki Marina Area
29 Boston, Quincy Market/Faneuil Hall/Financial District
30 Oahu, Waikiki Beach Area
31 Myrtle Beach
32 Hilton Head Island
33 Buffalo, Niagara Falls/Buffalo/Amherst
34 Newark, Meadowlands/Jersey City
35 Washington, DC, Convention Center/Capitol Hill Area
36 Toronto, Downtown
37 Portland, Downtown
38 Destin, FL
39 Savannah, Historic District
40 Orlando, Disney World Vicinity
41 San Francisco, Union Square East
42 London, Mayfair/Soho
43 San Diego, Coronado
44 Miami, Miami Beach
45 Charleston, SC, Downtown
46 Chicago, Lincoln Park
47 Ocean City, MD
48 Monterey, Carmel/Carmel Valley
49 Atlantic City, Atlantic City/Cape May
50 New York City, Midtown West
