CHICAGO, Oct. 20, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The latest Orbitz® Insider Index breaks down the holiday travel outlook for 2016, including top destinations, average prices, best times to book, busiest airports and Americans’ attitudes toward the most eventful travel season of the year.
According to the Orbitz.com® 2016 holiday survey, 72 percent of Americans are planning to travel at least once between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.1 Orbitz.com also found that travelers would be in a “New York state of mind” this holiday season, with New York City topping the list as the number one destination to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas. Warm-weather getaways are also leading the pack; Orlando and Cancun are two of the top sunny destinations for the holidays.2
“Last year, 50 percent of travelers booked their airfare for Thanksgiving by October 28, and 50 percent booked their Christmas airfare by mid-November,” said Jeanenne Tornatore, senior editor at Orbitz.com. “These travelers likely secured some of the best deals on holiday airfare. Prices can rise significantly during the holidays and while some people think they’ll get a better deal if they wait, we’ve actually found the opposite to be true. In fact, this year the best deals on airfare for holiday travel can be found in October, so now is the time to buy.”
Visit http://www.orbitz.com/holidays for a full guide on traveling over the holidays, including fare trends with a calendar of the cheapest days to book flights, info on the busiest airports and top destinations. And for travelers who still need to book holiday trips, Orbitz is spreading the holi-deals with 15 percent off participating hotels using promotion code SEEYALATER. Book by November 20 to save.3
Orbitz.com has identified the Top 10 destinations travelers plan to visit for the 2016 holiday travel season.4
THANKSGIVING TRAVEL HIGHLIGHTS5
- The average price of Thanksgiving airfare to the top 10 travel destinations is $409 with hotel costs of $158, on average, to the top 10 destinations.
- Chicago O’Hare International (ORD), Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International (ATL) and Los Angeles International (LAX) are the three busiest airports and therefore travelers should add extra time for any trips that include these airports.6
Orbitz.com Top 10 Thanksgiving Destinations
| Rank | Destination | Average Hotel Daily Rate 2016 | Average Airline Ticket Prices 2016 | ||||
| 1 | New York, N.Y. | $ | 318 | $ | 424 | ||
| 2 | Las Vegas, Nev. | $ | 122 | $ | 401 | ||
| 3 | Dallas, Texas | $ | 138 | $ | 395 | ||
| 4 | Chicago, Ill. | $ | 190 | $ | 376 | ||
| 5 | Washington, D.C. | $ | 138 | $ | 385 | ||
| 6 | Atlanta, Ga. | $ | 121 | $ | 338 | ||
| 7 | Los Angeles, Calif. | $ | 159 | $ | 474 | ||
| 8 | Denver, Colo. | $ | 118 | $ | 390 | ||
| 9 | Newark, N.J. | $ | 115 | $ | 422 | ||
| 10 | San Francisco, Calif. | $ | 164 | $ | 484 | ||
CHRISTMAS TRAVEL HIGHLIGHTS7
- The average price of Christmas airfare is $435 with hotel costs averaging $180 for daily hotel prices in the top 10 destinations.
- When it comes to Christmas travel, people book their flights more than a month in advance, while they tend to procrastinate on hotel bookings. According to Orbitz.com data, last year 50 percent of people booked Christmas air travel by November 14, with the same percentage securing their overnight hotel stays as late as nine days before Christmas, on December 16.
- Chicago’s O’Hare will be a very busy hub for December travel. In particular, flights from O’Hare to Denver International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport are the busiest routes for Christmas, according to data from the Orbitz Insider Index.
Orbitz.com Top 10 Christmas Destinations
| Rank | Destination | Average Hotel Daily Rate 2016 | Average Airline Ticket Prices 2016 | ||||
| 1 | New York, N.Y. | $ | 259 | $ | 408 | ||
| 2 | Las Vegas, Nev. | $ | 95 | $ | 344 | ||
| 3 | Chicago, Ill. | $ | 145 | $ | 377 | ||
| 4 | Denver, Colo. | $ | 141 | $ | 412 | ||
| 5 | Orlando, Fla. | $ | 177 | $ | 496 | ||
| 6 | Cancun, Mexico | $ | 378 | $ | 786 | ||
| 7 | Dallas, Texas | $ | 118 | $ | 367 | ||
| 8 | Seattle, Wash. | $ | 136 | $ | 344 | ||
| 9 | Los Angeles, Calif. | $ | 197 | $ | 397 | ||
| 10 | Phoenix, Ariz. | $ | 156 | $ | 422 | ||
NEW YEAR’S TRAVEL HIGHLIGHTS8
- The average price of New Year’s airfare is $370 with hotel costs averaging $217 per night for the top 10 destinations.
- Las Vegas, New York and Los Angeles are the top U.S. destinations for New Year’s, though many travelers will flock to ring in the New Year in Mexico, with Cancun and Puerto Vallarta ranking as the top international destinations.
- Orbitz.com also found that New Year’s is the least expensive holiday to travel, with average air ticket prices of $405.
Orbitz.com Top 10 New Year’s Destinations
| Rank | Destination | Average Hotel Daily Rate 2016 | Average Airline Ticket Prices 2016 | ||||
| 1 | Las Vegas, Nev. | $ | 247 | $ | 413 | ||
| 2 | New York, N.Y. | $ | 462 | $ | 452 | ||
| 3 | Los Angeles, Calif. | $ | 199 | $ | 440 | ||
| 4 | Orlando, Fla. | $ | 200 | $ | 363 | ||
| 5 | Denver, Colo. | $ | 190 | $ | 288 | ||
| 6 | Seattle, Wash. | $ | 184 | $ | 271 | ||
| 7 | Orange County, Calif. | $ | 222 | $ | 396 | ||
| 8 | San Jose, Calif. | $ | 156 | $ | 370 | ||
| 9 | Newark, N.J. | $ | 152 | $ | 445 | ||
| 10 | Atlanta, Ga. | $ | 162 | $ | 259 | ||
Americans’ Attitudes toward Holiday Travel
The Orbitz.com holiday survey also took the pulse of Americans’ opinions on everything from budgets to the most traveled holidays. Below are additional key findings from this year’s holiday travel survey:
- Orbitz.com found that nearly 70 percent of people plan to travel for one or two of the holidays this season, but less than four percent plan to travel for all of them.
- When it comes to spending, consumers open their wallets during the season. Americans, on average, plan to spend $1,651 on travel for either Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year’s.
- New Year’s is the least popular travel holiday with only 16 percent of people taking a trip to ring in the New Year.
For information on Orbitz holi-data, holiday trends, and more visit orbitz.com/holidays.
Promotion Terms and Conditions
1 From the September ’16 Orbitz University of Wisconsin US Traveler Compass Study. Orbitz and the University of Wisconsin Business School’s US Traveler Compass Study surveyed 711 adults 18-64 who are leisure travelers about their future travel intent. This study is done using Google Consumer Surveys.
2 Based on stand-alone and package round trip tickets sold on Orbitz & CheapTickets.
3 Subject to the restrictions set out in these terms and conditions, the 15% promotion code may be applied to a qualifying stand-alone hotel (not a hotel booking in combination with any other product such as flight + hotel, or flight + hotel + car) booked online with orbitz.com between October 19, 2016 12:01AM CT and November 20, 2016 11:59PM CT, for 1 or more nights for travel between October 19, 2016, and March 31, 2017. Qualifying bookings instantly receive 15% off at check-out through the use of the promotion code. Limit one discount per hotel room and one promotion code per itinerary. Customers are limited to two redemptions per promotion code. Exclusions may apply and most major hotel chains are excluded. The promotion code cannot be redeemed against taxes, supplier fees, cancellation or change fees/penalties, administrative fees or other miscellaneous charges, which are the sole responsibility of the customer. Discounts are not redeemable for cash for any reason. Promotion codes are non-transferable, not for resale, and cannot be combined with other offers or used for any booking previously made. Any attempt at fraud will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Void where prohibited, taxed or restricted by law. Orbitz reserves the right to change or limit the promotion in its sole discretion. Usual booking terms and conditions apply (see https://www.orbitz.com/p/info-other/legal.htm) All bookings are subject to availability.
4 Rankings for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s based on stand-alone and package flights booked on Orbitz & CheapTickets. Average daily rates and average ticket prices are based on 2016 bookings on Orbitz & CheapTickets through 09.29.16 for travel over the respective holiday.
5 Average airfare and hotel prices are based on Orbitz.com air and hotel bookings as of 9/29/16 for travel from Nov 23 – Nov 28, 2016 vs. the coinciding holiday period last year, Nov 25 – Nov 30, 2015.
6 Busiest airports data based on Orbitz.com standalone air ticket bookings to top 50 airports with arrivals and departures between Nov. 23 - 26, 2016.
7 Average airfare and hotel prices are based on Orbitz.com air and hotel bookings as of 9/29/16 for travel from Dec 22 – 28, 2016 vs. the coinciding holiday period last year, Dec 21 – 27, 2015.
8 Average airfare and hotel prices are based on Orbitz.com air and hotel bookings as of 9/29/16 for travel from Dec 30, 2016 – Jan 3, 2017 vs. the coinciding holiday period last year, Dec 30, 2015 – Jan 3, 2016.
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