The mid-year Hotel Price Index report from Hotels.com shows Houston continues to be a major destination for domestic travelers.
The Bayou City ranks No. 9 on the list of top U.S. destinations for Americans. Houston ranks ahead of other Texas cities including San Antonio (No. 10), Dallas (No. 15) and Austin (No. 16). Competitive peer cities such as New Orleans (No. 14), Atlanta (No. 11) and Miami (No. 13) also fell below Houston on the list.
"This report shows us what we in the Houston hospitality already know, and what more and more Americans are discovering every day: Houston is a prime leisure destination and a major competitor for conventions and meetings," says Greg Ortale, president and CEO of the Houston First Corporation members. "Our already strong centralized hotel package will only get stronger in coming years. What's more, our cultural and culinary scenes continue to dominate, garnering national press and driving more visitors to experience Houston."
Las Vegas ranked first on the list, followed by New York City, Orlando, San Diego and Los Angeles to round out the top five.
Hotels.com compiles the Index using data from their booking system to determine which destinations are the most popular worldwide. Houston ranked ninth on the domestic travel list in 2012 as well.
According to the Index's authors: "Americans have very limited vacation time compared to other global cities, so to see where they choose to spend their precious days tells us leaps and bounds about places worth visiting."
Many Americans are choosing to travel to the same places they have stayed in the last two years, according to the report. But, more importantly, business and leisure travel are both up and hotel occupancy rose almost 4% in the past year.
For more details from the report, click here.
