New Expedia study reveals Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday travel trends

Expedia has released new data on holiday travel for the upcoming festive season.

The survey found that travelers are in the planning phases for Thanksgiving and Christmas with the most popular locales including destinations in Mexico, the southern United States and the Caribbean.

Once again, U.S. travelers are staying closer to home for the holidays rather than traveling farther afield. Those looking for cold-weather destinations and winter sports are traveling to Colorado and Utah.

“Whether you’re hoping to spend your holidays on the sand or on a ski slope, the best way to find a great value just requires a bit of flexibility in terms of your travel dates and taking advantage of the savings that are out there,” says Christie Hudson, senior PR manager for Brand Expedia. “For example, members save 10% or more just by booking on the Expedia app, which is a great way to get more bang for your buck during the holiday season.”

The top destinations for Thanksgiving were:

Cancun, Mexico
Nashville
Riviera Maya, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Mexico
Oahu, Hawaii
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
Charleston, South Carolina
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Salt Lake City
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Indianapolis

At Christmas, the top destinations were:

Orlando
Cancun, Mexico
Riviera Maya, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Mexico
Oahu, Hawaii
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
Kansas City
Salt Lake City
Palm Beach area, Florida
Rapid City–Mount Rushmore, South Dakota
Sarasota area, Florida

Expedia also looked at destinations that were seeing the biggest jumps in search interest for Thanksgiving and Christmas for its trending destinations.

For Thanksgiving, these included the following places:

St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Salt Lake City
Acapulco, Mexico
Estes Park, Colorado
Park City, Utah
Chatanooga, Tennessee
Monteverde, Costa Rica
Boulder, Colorado
Fresno, California
Yucatan, Mexico

For Christmas, these were the top trending destinations:

Gainsville, Florida
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Estes Park, Colorado
Knoxville, Tennessee
Chatanooga, Tennessee
Salt Lake City
Cherokee, North Carolina
Oregon Coast, Oregon
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
Ocean City, Maryland

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