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Hotwire Reveals Top U.S. Destinations for Best Value

The 2013 Travel Value Index Study named the top 10 cities that had the best combination of low prices and discounts on air, hotel, rental cars and entertainment.

by Staff
March 5, 2013
1 min to read


Hotwire.com released its seventh annual Hotwire Travel Value Index study examining the top destinations for the best value on March 5.

The study reveals the top 10 cities where consumers planning their next trip can find the best combination of low prices, discounts and entertainment.

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Low prices on air, hotel and rental cars make up 50% of overall score; discounts on air, hotel and rental cars make up 25%; and affordable entertainment is the last 25% of the score.

The top 10 U.S. destinations for value vacations in 2013 include:

Rank/City

Overall TVI Rating

Rank Last Year

Highest Scoring Category

Orlando, Fla.

100

1

Low prices

Atlanta, Ga.

100

2

Discounts

Tampa, Fla.

94

6

Low Prices

Dallas-Fort Worth, Tex.

94

3

Discounts

Pheonix, Nev.

92

5

Entertainment

Raleigh, N.C.

85

n/a

Low Prices

Charlotte, N.C.

83

8

Discounts

Houston, Tex.

83

4

Discounts

St. Louis, Mo.

82

n/a

Discounts

Sacramento, Calif.

79

n/a

Discounts


The Hotwire Travel Value Index is based on a statistical model combining both in-house and third-party research. Hotwire evaluates the top 50 U.S. leisure markets, rating them across three individual categories to generate an overall ranking for consumer vacation value.


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