Priceline.com Reveals that New Orleans' French Quarter is the Most Popular Destination for July 4th 2013

NORWALK, Conn., June 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- New Orleans' French Quarter edged out Chicago's tony North Michigan Avenue as the most popular 4^th of July destination for 2013.  Last year's top destination, New York City's Midtown West, came in at #3 on this year's list of the top 50 travel destinations for the upcoming holiday.  For the first time, Paris neighborhoods took four spots on the Top 50 list.

Priceline.com's Top 50 Destinations list is based on over 30,000 hotel room booking requests made by customers using priceline.com's Name Your Own Price® hotel reservation service.  The 2013 list is based off of credit card-backed booking requests on priceline.com, revealing actual consumer travel intent for the upcoming holiday.

"The industry is flooded with editorial opinion about the best travel destinations for this year, as well as a lot of consumer poll data that sheds light on where American travelers would like to spend their holiday, but we wanted to take a close look at actual booking intent to see where people are truly packing up for," said Brett Keller, Chief Marketing Office of priceline.com. "We're seeing some really unique trends this year, from the emergence of European destinations in the top ranks to the slow-down in beach-going travel.  One thing is for sure – the appetite for travel this holiday season is robust."      

Priceline.com also reported today that the average domestic airfare for July is $402, which is 4.5% higher than last year.  The average international airfare for July is $886, or 4.2% above 2012, based on tickets booked over the past 30 days.  Looking ahead to August, the average domestic airfare is $362, or 4.3% higher than last year.  The average international airfare for August 2013 is $860, which is 3% above last year.

Priceline.com's Top 50 Destinations for July 4^th 2013

#1        New Orleans, French Quarter
#2        Chicago, North Michigan Ave./River North Area
#3        New York City, Midtown West
#4        San Francisco, Fisherman's Wharf
#5        Las Vegas, Strip North Area
#6        Oahu, Waikiki Beach Area
#7        Paris, Champs Elysees/Arc De Triomphe
#8        Paris, Opera Quarter East/Louvre Museum Area
#9        New York City, Upper East Side
#10      London, Westminster
#11      Orange County, Disneyland/Anaheim North
#12      San Diego, Coronado  
#13      Las Vegas, Strip Vicinity South
#14      New York City, Times Square/Theater District
#15      Maui, Ka'anapali/Lahaina
#16      Portland, Downtown
#17      Chicago, Millennium Park, Loop & Grant Park Area
#18      St. Louis, Downtown
#19      Seattle, Downtown/Pike Place
#20      St. Catharines, Niagara Falls
#21      Washington, DC, White House/Downtown
#22      Montreal, Downtown/City Center
#23      Las Vegas, Fremont St. Vicinity
#24      San Diego, Downtown/Harbor Island
#25      San Francisco, Union Square East
#26      Buffalo, Niagara Falls
#27      Los Angeles, Downtown
#28      San Diego, Hotel Circle/Mission Valley West
#29      New Orleans, Downtown
#30      Boston, Boston Harbor Front/Aquarium
#31      Orlando, Downtown Disney/Lake Buena Vista
#32      Boston, Boston Common, Theater District
#33      Seattle, Seattle Center/Space Needle
#34      Chicago, McCormick Place/Medical District
#35      New York City, Midtown East
#36      Paris, Opera Quarter West/Jardin des Tuileries
#37      Vancouver, Downtown
#38      Hilton Head Island
#39      San Diego, Gaslamp Quarter/Convention Center
#40      Toronto, Downtown Toronto North
#41      New Orleans, New Orleans Airport Area
#42      Milwaukee, Downtown
#43      Virginia Beach
#44      Destin (FL)
#45      Paris, Eiffel Tower Area
#46      Ocean City (MD)
#47      San Diego, Point Loma/Shelter Island/Old Town
#48      Savannah, Historic Savannah and Riverfront
#49      London, Mayfair/Soho
#50      Charleston, Downtown

About The Priceline Group
The Priceline Group (Nasdaq: PCLN) is a leader in global online hotel reservations. The Priceline Group is composed of five primary brands - Booking.com, priceline.com, Agoda.com, KAYAK and rentalcars.com, and several ancillary brands.  The Priceline Group provides online travel services in over 180 countries and territories in Europe, North America, South America, the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East and Africa.

Booking.com is the number one online hotel reservation service in the world, offering over 295,000 hotels and accommodations (as of May 3, 2013), and is available in 41 languages. More recent counts are available on the Booking.com website. Priceline.com gives leisure travelers multiple ways to save on their airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, vacation packages and cruises. In addition to getting compelling published prices, travelers can take advantage of priceline.com's famous Name Your Own Price® service, which can deliver the lowest prices available, or the recently added Express DealsSM, where travelers can take advantage of hotel discounts without bidding. Agoda.com is an Asia-based online hotel reservation service that is available in 38 languages.  Rentalcars.com is a multinational rental car service, offering its reservation services in over 6,000 locations and providing customer support in 40 languages.  KAYAK's websites and mobile apps allow people to easily compare information from hundreds of travel sites at once.

SOURCE The Priceline Group