Newport Beach, California, comes at no. 2 in Hotwire’s 2020 list of “itty bitty city” destinations for fast-paced summer getaways nearby.
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Summer is almost over, and the Covid-19 pandemic shows no sign of abating. Many Americans, who put their vacation plans on the line, think about when they might leave.
Shorter breaks in smaller towns and cities near home may be the answer.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has really changed everything we know and love about travel – between ground flights and changing travel restrictions, people are finding it difficult this year to get their travel fix fixed,” said Nick Graham, head of online travel empire Hotwire. com. “Domestic trips, especially fast-paced, local excursions for 2 to 3 days, are a great way to re-test your travel water and get a much-needed change of scenery while staying close to home.”
Hotwire found that while 72% of Americans are interested in a summer vacation, 4 out of 5 think fast, local travel is a first option in the pandemic. In addition, 43% will seek out less adult destinations and 89% will take health precautions when traveling. These steps include traveling by car (50%), researching hotel cleanliness before booking (29%) and sitting close to home (26%).
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These findings are supported by other research. Insurance company Allianz found that nearly 6 in 10 surveyed travel insurance customers will stay within U.S. borders this year for vacation.
However, Americans also want to avoid crowds: In a recent survey of 2,000 people, financial services firm IPX 1031 found that 66% of major cities avoid traveling. In addition, 81% will check Covid-19 case levels in potential destinations, and 85% will cancel if numbers spike.
“These trends in travel planning reflect a move toward more distance [and] rural locations and even residential stations across major cities that have long been very popular for summer travel, “said IPX 1031 spokesman Matt Zajechowski.
Meanwhile, 60% of Americans have not taken a single day off since the outbreak began, Graham of Hotwire said, although it is important for welfare to take time.
“From personal experience, the few quickie trips I’ve made have felt incredibly uplifting, and exploring our own backyard here in the US is a great place to start,” he said.
This summer, Hotwire compiled a list of the top 40 U.S. cities for “quickie” travel, and divided them into four major categories, including “itty bitty city” and “small town favorite,” with 10 destinations in each. Graham said the company analyzed more than 10,000 data points for 300 cities on factors such as savings on booking bookings, variety and population size in addition to a more traditional metric such as the number of tourist attractions.
“These new factors have put some places like South Bend, Indiana and Troy, Alabama, on our radar, but we’ve obviously also measured vacancy factors like things to do and entertainment, making favorite destinations like Charleston, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia, comes again at the top of the list, “he said.
Here’s a look at the lists:
Top 10 Cities ‘Itty Bitty’
Charleston, South Carolina, is Hotwire’s no. 1 for pick “Itty Bitty City” fast travel.
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- Charleston, South Carolina
- Newport Beach, California
- Santa Barbara, California
- South Bend, Indiana
- Sarasota, Florida
- Savannah, Georgia
- Temecula, California
- Troy, Alabama
- Wilmington, Delaware
- Atlantic City, New Jersey
Hotwire also ranks in what they call the top “small towns,” although some may only be considered small compared to places like New York and Los Angeles:
Top 10 ‘Small Cities’
Orlando may be home to Disney and Universal, but Hotwire says the Florida theme park Mecca is also a top spot for “small town.”
Hotwire
- Orlando, Florida
- Scottsdale, Arizona
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Reno, Nevada
- Salt Lake City
- Springfield, Missouri
- Madison, Wisconsin
- Shreveport, Louisiana
- Tallahassee, Florida
- Toledo, Ohio
For all the talk about moving to smaller, less densely populated destinations, Hotwire also ranks much larger cities. The picks of “midsize you should see” were St. Louis; Tampa, Florida; Atlanta; Arlington, Virginia; Tucson, Arizona; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Virginia Beach, Virginia; Pittsburgh; Miami; in Cincinnati. The top 10 “big metropolises” for vacation, meanwhile, were Las Vegas; San Francisco; Washington, DC; Oklahoma City; Seattle; Memphis, Tennessee; Indianapolis; Austin, Texas; Denver; and Portland, Oregon.
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