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Hotwire Ranks Most Popular New Year’s Travel Destinations

The top three cities booked on Hotwire are Orlando, Chicago and Las Vegas, while London made the list for the first time.

by Staff
December 26, 2012
2 min to read


Hotwire.com announced Dec. 20 the top 10 most popular destinations travelers are visiting for New Year’s celebrations. Orlando returned to the top of the list from last year as the most popular destination.

This year, more than half of cities on the list are warm, southern destinations, but popular cities like New York, Las Vegas and New Orleans remain on the list.

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Ranked second, Chicago moved up two spots since last year due to its fireworks display over Lake Michigan, according to Hotwire. This move pushed Las Vegas and New York down to third and fourth place, respectively. 

London, the only international city in the rankings, made the list for the first time. Miami is also a newcomer and placed fifth.

Los Angeles and New Orleans fell from sixth and fifth place last year, to the last two cities on the list.

“Booking trends show that travelers are opting for warm weather backdrops for their New Year's Eve celebrations alongside the bigger, more traditional celebration cities,” said Clem Bason, president of the Hotwire Group. “Some of the best deals and great experiences can be found in cities like Orlando, Chicago and San Diego, where you can stay over the holiday for under $100 per night.”

Rank

City

Average Nightly
Rates on Hotwire

1

Orlando, Fla.

$73

2

Chicago, Ill.

$88

3

Las Vegas, Nev.

$133

4

New York City, N.Y

$231

5

Miami, Fla.

$157

6

San Francisco, Calif.

$114

7

London, England

$128

8

San Diego, Calif.

$79

9

Los Angeles, Calif.

$111

10

New Orleans, La.

$142


The 10 most popular New Year's destinations and average prices are based on hotel bookings made on Hotwire.com on Dec. 4, 2012, for travel between Dec. 30, 2012 and Jan. 2, 2013.

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