The most popular destinations this holiday season also happen to be some of the most expensive ones, a new analysis by travel booking website KAYAK.com has found.
That differs greatly from years past when people were more frugal with their holiday vacations, if they took any at all.
Last year, Florida was the most popular destination for both Christmas and New Year’s. This year, travelers are venturing out.
Washington, D.C, had the biggest percentage jump (10%) in searches over last year for the days surrounding Christmas even though the average airfare has increased 10% to $409.37, KAYAK found.
St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands had a 30% jump in queries for New Year’s — the largest percentage jump of any destination — even though the average daily room rate for that time period is $471.36. Since last year, the average airfare has gone up 5% to $963.28.
West Palm Beach, Fla., had a 21% increase in searches this year for New Year’s. It also had a whopping 15% jump in airfare to $480.98.
“This just shows that people are splurging on their travel this year,” says Maria Katime, a spokeswoman for KAYAK.
Rounding out the five destinations with the largest percentage jumps in searches for Christmas are West Palm Beach, St. Louis, Philadelphia, and Raleigh, N.C. Just two foreign destinations made it into the top 10: London and San Jose, Costa Rica.
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