Priceline.com, today, released the results of its fourth annual survey of the 50 most-popular destinations for the upcoming Independence Day week. And, so says the company in a news release, "One surprise on this year's list was the first-time appearance of Milwaukee in the #38 spot."
It continues, "This may be due to Summerfest 2007, an 11-day music festival on the shores of Lake Michigan."
The survey, according to the company, is based on more than 30,000 hotel room booking requests made by priceline.com customers for check-in between June 29 and July 4. Because the survey is based on actual booking activity, and not on consumer preference polls or votes, Priceline.com believes the annual survey is one of the more accurate predictors of July 4th travel trends.
Consistent with last year, Chicago, Las Vegas, and New York City are the most popular spots for the July 4 week, making up the top seven destinations in the list. Chicago's Millennium Park area has made the No. 1 spot on the list for the second year running, and the Las Vegas Strip has moved up from spot #5 in 2006 to spot No. 2 this year. New York neighborhoods took four of the top 10 spots, which is consistent with last year's findings.
Internationally, London grew in popularity this year, taking three spots on the list (12, 31 and 32), compared to only one spot (35) in 2006. This may be due to the holiday falling mid-week, prompting vacationers to extend their vacations, rather than taking just a long weekend.
The Priceline Top 50 Destinations List for July 4th 2007
1 Chicago, Millennium Park
2 Las Vegas, Strip Vicinity
3 New York City, Upper Midtown
4 Chicago, North Michigan Avenue
5 New York City, SoHo
6 New York City, Midtown East
7 New York City, Midtown West
8 Vancouver
9 San Diego, Coastal
10 Seattle, Downtown
11 Newark, Meadowlands
12 London, Regents Park
13 Oahu, Waikiki Beach
14 Montreal
15 Washington DC, White House/Downtown
16 Niagara Falls, St. Catharine's
17 Boston, Downtown/Charlestown
18 Orange County, Disneyland Area
19 Boston, Copley
20 Orlando, Universal Studios/Sea World
21 Las Vegas, Convention Center
22 San Antonio, Downtown/Riverwalk
23 San Francisco, Union Square West
24 San Diego, Downtown/Harbor Island
25 San Francisco, Union Square East
26 San Diego, Point Loma/Shelter Island/Old Town
27 Philadelphia, Downtown
28 Oahu, Waikiki Marina Area
29 Orlando, Disney World Vicinity
30 San Antonio, Medical Center
31 London, Bloomsbury/Marble Arch
32 London, Mayfair/Soho
33 Toronto, Markham
34 San Francisco, Fisherman's Wharf
35 Puerto Rico, San Juan
36 Los Angeles, Central/Hollywood
37 Virginia Beach
38 Milwaukee, Downtown
39 Myrtle Beach
40 Seattle, Airport Area
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
