Orlando tops Vegas in survey

After years of being the “bridesmaid” in the nationwide survey of travel experts by Travel Trends Survey, Orlando bested Las Vegas as the top domestic destination being booked. This is the first time since 2003 (when Travel Leaders regularly started compiling this survey) that Las Vegas has not grabbed the top spot.

“Orlando landing at number one shows the remarkable resiliency in family-oriented destinations, while Las Vegas appears to still be suffering unfairly from the intense scrutiny associated with last year’s spate of cancelled conventions,” said Roger E. Block, president of Travel Leaders Franchise Group, which includes locations from coast to coast.

“Overall bookings are starting to trend higher, optimism is definitely on the rise, and a significant number of leisure travelers are taking advantage of current hotel prices and ‘trading up’ to more luxurious accommodations – which are all good signs as we head into 2010,” said Block.

The other top domestic destinations were cruises anywhere in Alaska; New York City; Maui, Hawaii; Honolulu, Hawaii; Chicago; Phoenix/Scottsdale; Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles. Chicago’s ranking is up from 10th in ’09 and 20th in ’08, reflecting its growing popularity. Los Angeles climbed seven spots to No. 10.

The top 10 international destinations were Caribbean cruises; Cancun, Mexico; Riviera Maya, Mexico; European cruises (Mediterranean); Rome; London; Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; Paris; Montego Bay, Jamaica and Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

The 2010 Travel Trends Survey includes responses from 521 Travel Leaders owners, managers and frontline travel experts throughout the U.S.