With summer winding down and holiday travel plans beginning to take shape, Hotels.com has released the most popular cities from the first half of 2015, highlighting the most popular domestic and international destinations based on data from the Hotel Price Index™ (HPI®).
Top Domestic Destinations
While the Top 10 U.S. destinations for American travelers remained largely the same as the first half of 2014, several Southwest and Midwest destinations rose in popularity. After seeing record-breaking crowds this year, the Grand Canyon region made the biggest jump in the rankings from outside the Top 50 to #45. Phoenix also experienced an increase in popularity in the first half of 2015 after being on the national stage and hosting the country’s biggest sporting event in February. The city jumped two spots to become the 27th most popular domestic destination, replacing Atlantic City, which fell 12 spots to #39.
Kansas City (#29) and St. Louis (#30) also made big leaps as each moved ahead four spots to join Chicago (#6) and Detroit (#28) as top Midwest destinations. California hotspots San Diego (+1 spot to #4) and Anaheim (+2 to #17) also rose in domestic popularity, but with a revitalized downtown and a flurry of new restaurant openings, it was the state capital of Sacramento (+4 spots to #31) that saw the biggest increase on the west coast.
50 Most Popular Domestic Cities for American Travelers
City
H1* 2015 vs H12014 Change
City
H1 2015 vs H12014 Change
City
H1 2015 vs H12014 Change
1. Las Vegas, Nev.
No Change
18. Philadelphia, Pa.
-1
35. Reno, Nev.
+3
2. New York, N.Y.
No Change
19. Seattle, Wash.
-1
36. Raleigh, N.C.
+1
3. Orlando, Fla.
No Change
20. Dallas, Texas
+1
37. Jacksonville, Fla.
-1
4. San Diego, Calif.
+1
21. Nashville, Tenn.
-1
38. Newark, N.J.
+2
5. Los Angeles, Calif.
-1
22. Portland, Ore.
No Change
39. Atlantic City, N.J.
-12
6. Chicago, Ill.
No Change
23. Tampa, Fla.
+1
40. Savannah, Ga.
+1
7. San Francisco, Calif.
No Change
24. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
-1
41. Honolulu, Hawaii
-2
8. Washington, D.C.
No Change
25. Myrtle Beach, S.C.
+1
42. Albuquerque, N.M.
+1
9. Houston, Texas
No Change
26. Charlotte, N.C.
-1
43. Columbus, Ohio
+1
10. San Antonio, Texas
No Change
27. Phoenix, Ariz.
+2
44. Charleston, S.C.
-2
11. Atlanta, Ga.
No Change
28. Detroit, Mich.
No Change
45. Grand Canyon
New to list
12. Boston, Mass.
No Change
29. Kansas City, Mo.
+4
46. Arlington, Va.
-1
13. New Orleans, La.
No Change
30. St. Louis, Mo.
+4
47. Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
+3
14. Denver, Colo.
No Change
31. Sacramento, Calif.
+4
48. Oklahoma City
No Change
15. Miami, Fla.
No Change
32. Indianapolis, Ind.
-2
49. Memphis, Tenn.
No Change
16. Austin, Texas
No Change
33. Baltimore, Md.
-2
50. Virginia Beach, Va.
-4
17. Anaheim, Calif.
+2
34. Salt Lake City, Utah
-2
Top International Destinations for Americans
For U.S. travelers going abroad in the first half of 2015, Canada again was the place to visit. Toronto (#4) and Vancouver (#5) remained in the Top 5, while Montreal jumped two spots to #6 and Niagara Falls remained in the Top 20 at #14.
The list of most popular international destinations for Americans in the first half of 2015 also featured several newcomers. Budapest’s international airport is on pace to break 2014’s record number of passengers and the Hungarian capitol saw one of the biggest jumps in popularity internationally, breaking into the rankings at #41. Meanwhile, Mexico’s Ciudad Juarez (#44), which launched a tourism campaign called “Juarez is Waiting for You” in April to attract travelers, entered the Top 50 at #44.
Other international cities to rise in popularity in the first six months of 2015 included Bangkok (+10 to #11), Punta Cana (+9 spots to #40), Sydney (+5 spots to #28) and Dubai (+5 spots to #17).
50 Most Popular International Cities for American Travelers
City
Country
H1 2015 vs H1 2014 Change
City
Country
H1 2015 vs H1 2014 Change
1. London
United Kingdom
No Change
26. Riviera Maya
Mexico
+3
2. Paris
France
No Change
27. Prague
Czech Republic
No Change
3. Rome
Italy
No Change
28. Sydney
Australia
+5
4. Toronto
Canada
No Change
29. Milan
Italy
+3
5. Vancouver
Canada
No Change
30. Copenhagen
Denmark
-2
6. Montreal
Canada
+2
31. Shanghai
China
-6
7. Barcelona
Spain
-1
32. Panama City
Panama
+3
8. Tokyo
Japan
-1
33. Los Cabos
Mexico
-2
9. Hong Kong
Hong Kong
No Change
34. Vienna
Austria
+2
10. Amsterdam
Netherlands
No Change
35. Athens
Greece
+3
11. Bangkok
Thailand
+10
36. Beijing
China
-6
12. Venice
Italy
No Change
37. Stockholm
Sweden
+4
13. Madrid
Spain
+1
38. Edinburgh
United Kingdom
+2
14. Niagara Falls
Canada
-3
39. Bogota
Colombia
No Change
15. Florence
Italy
-2
40. Punta Cana
Dominican Republic
+9
16. Mexico City
Mexico
No Change
41. Budapest
Hungary
New to List
17. Dubai
United Arab Emirates
+5
42. Vallarta
Mexico
+1
18. Dublin
Ireland
-1
43. Bali
Indonesia
New to List
19. Istanbul
Turkey
-1
44. Ciudad Juarez
Mexico
New to List
20. Cancun
Mexico
No Change
45. Calgary
Canada
No Change
21. Berlin
Germany
+3
46. Frankfurt
Germany
+1
22. Singapore
Singapore
-3
47. Brussels
Belgium
+3
23. Munich
Germany
+3
48. Buenos Aires
Argentina
-11
24. San Juan
Puerto Rico
-9
49. Reykjavik
Iceland
New to List
25. Seoul
South Korea
-2
50. Rio de Janeiro
Brazil
-6
*H1 is the first half of 2014 or 2015
Top U.S. Destinations for International Travelers
New York (#1), Las Vegas (#2) and Orlando (#3) remained the three most popular U.S. destinations for international visitors in the first half of 2015, while San Francisco surpassed Los Angeles and Miami to reach the #4 spot. The Grand Canyon rose in popularity amongst international visitors as well, moving from #24 to #20. The national park was recently named the sixth most popular international landmark on Chinese travelers’ wish lists according to the Hotels.com Chinese international Travel Monitor.
The post Where did Americans Travel Most in the First Half of 2015? appeared first on Travelandtourworld.com.