Long-time US favorites continue to top traveler’s list
Las Vegas, Orlando and Honolulu continued to top the list of most popular American attractions in a recent survey of Carlson Wagonlit Travel agents.
The annual survey also had those three among the top draw in prior years.
Domestic bookings at American Express Travel tell a similar story, reported the AP.
Internationally, Caribbean cruising remains popular. Of the 507 Carlson Wagonlit respondents, 71% say they have booked Caribbean cruises, followed by Cancun (67%) and the Riviera Maya (35%), south of Cancun.
Those results also closely mirror last year’s, when Riviera Maya outranked Cancun, which was recovering from the devastation of 2005’s Hurricane Wilma.
At Travelocity, editor at large Amy Ziff predicts South America, especially Argentina and Chile, will gain popularity as Americans look for cheaper alternatives to European travel.
New passport regulations taking effect Jan. 23 that dictate air travelers entering the USA from Mexico, the Caribbean and Canada carry passports may increase the popularity of Puerto Rico, which, as a U.S. commonwealth, is exempt from the rules.
Among other findings in the Carlson Wagonlit survey:
•About 64% (vs. fewer than half in 2006) said people are more confident about traveling farther from home.
•High fuel costs, followed by the economy and value of the dollar, will have the greatest effect on travel. Natural disasters, the No. 1 concern in 2006, fell to No. 6.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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