US national parks voted top tour destination
The US national parks came out the top destination for tours, vacation packages, and customized trips, says the US Tour Operators Association.
But for the 8th year in a row, the group ranked Italy the top world destination. Australia and the UK tied for a distant second place.
In the US, Alaska and Hawaii were cited as “hot destinations.”
Italy also came in as the biggest overall destination of 2010 in USTOA’s annual informal member poll.
“It’s not surprising that Italy won as top destination,” said John Stachnik, USTOA Chairman. “We asked our membership for the best destinations in a variety of categories, and Italy placed first for architecture, walking, romance, and culinary/wine experience.”
Peru was voted the “hottest up and coming” destination, while Latin America and the Eastern Mediterranean were voted top regions for dollar value.
Other countries cited as good dollar values were Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ireland, Mexico, Peru, Thailand, and the US.
The survey also revealed that individualized and customized vacation experiences are the hottest vacation trends, followed closely by shorter trips and travelers searching for the best value.
Other trends are family and multigenerational trips, more last-minute bookings, and river cruising vacations.
By David Wilkening
David
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