When asked what is the busiest travel time of the year, most people would probably cite Thanksgiving. But in a surprising finding, Orbitz says last year’s busiest holiday week was July 4.
The company’s “A Step Ahead” survey found Thanksgiving was actually the fifth busiest travel week, based on an Orbitz Insider Index. After July 4 came Memorial Day, followed by Christmas. Even the last week of March beat out Thanksgiving, based on Orbitz.com hotel and package (air and hotel) bookings.
“For those looking for a less stressful trip when fewer people are traveling, week 49 – the first week of December – was the slowest travel week of 2007,” the company said. “The second week of December was second slowest. The slowest travel week of the summer season was the week following Memorial Day. Other findings:
§ Recent Orbitz surveys found long weekend trips are now the most popular type of leisure travel. Research shows that leisure travelers taking more than twice as many long weekend trips as they do week-long vacations.
§ When getting away for holiday weekends, New York City was the top spot for Orbitz travelers in 2007. Chicago and Los Angeles followed, with Washington, D.C. and Denver rounding out the top five destinations.
§ These five cities also comprise the most popular domestic locales for all of 2007, based on total air and vacation package (air + hotel) bookings year-to-date.
§ Chicago, however, jumps New York as the #1 travel destination in the US this year. New York City was second, followed by Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Denver.
Report by David Wilkening
