Editor’s note: I love lists and this one has a good hook — great spots for the 4th of July. Plus, New Orleans, one of my favorite cities, leads the pack. Brian Ek does PR for Priceline and contributes occasionally to Tripso.
Priceline’s 6th annual survey of the 50 most popular destinations for July 4, 2009 is out today. The survey is based on more than 30,000 hotel room booking requests made by customers using priceline.com’s Name Your Own Price® hotel reservation service.
I saw one big surprise on the list – New Orleans was #1. This is the first time the Big Easy made the top spot on any Priceline holiday survey. Way to go, New Orleans.
The list is also reflective of the economy and the holiday itself. I see several destinations that are reachable by car. And there are a lot of beaches on the list. Given the cold, wet weather in the eastern half of the country, I was a bit surprised to see them, but I guess a blanket and a good book do make for a cheap getaway, assuming the weather cooperates. Finally, with some smaller communities not being able to afford fireworks this year, the big cities with their free or low-cost holiday events are indicating strong turnouts.
The Priceline Top 50 Destinations List for July 4th 2009
1 New Orleans, Downtown/Convention Center
2 Las Vegas, Strip Vicinity South
3 Chicago, Millennium Park/Loop/Grant Park Area
4 New York City, Times Square/Theater District
5 Seattle, Downtown/Pike Place
6 San Diego, Coastal Area
7 Chicago, North Michigan Avenue/River North Area
8 New Orleans, French Quarter
9 Washington, DC, White House/Downtown
10 Boston, Copley Square/Theater District
11 Montreal
12 San Francisco, Union Square West/Nob Hill
13 San Diego, Downtown & Harbor Island
14 San Diego, Point Loma/Shelter Island/Old Town
15 Las Vegas, Strip Vicinity North
16 St. Catharines, Niagara Falls
17 San Antonio, Downtown/Riverwalk
18 Orange County, Disneyland Area
19 Boston, Harbor Front/Aquarium
20 Orlando, Universal Studios/Sea World Area
21 Newport (RI), Goat Island/Newport & Newport Beach
22 Vancouver, Downtown
23 New York City, Empire State Building Area
24 Philadelphia, Downtown
25 Virginia Beach
26 New York City, Midtown East
27 Monterey, Monterey/Pacific Grove
28 Oahu, Waikiki Marina Area
29 Boston, Quincy Market/Faneuil Hall/Financial District
30 Oahu, Waikiki Beach Area
31 Myrtle Beach
32 Hilton Head Island
33 Buffalo, Niagara Falls/Buffalo/Amherst
34 Newark, Meadowlands/Jersey City
35 Washington, DC, Convention Center/Capitol Hill Area
36 Toronto, Downtown
37 Portland, Downtown
38 Destin, FL
39 Savannah, Historic District
40 Orlando, Disney World Vicinity
41 San Francisco, Union Square East
42 London, Mayfair/Soho
43 San Diego, Coronado
44 Miami, Miami Beach
45 Charleston, SC, Downtown
46 Chicago, Lincoln Park
47 Ocean City, MD
48 Monterey, Carmel/Carmel Valley
49 Atlantic City, Atlantic City/Cape May
50 New York City, Midtown West
