Holidata 2016: Expedia.com Holiday Travel Analysis Reveals Savings on Major Flight Routes, When to Book and Top Seasonal Destinations

03/11/2016 06:01

BELLEVUE, Wash., Nov. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Travel analysts from Expedia.com® revealed today holiday travel trends and top destinations ahead of one of the busiest travel seasons of the year. The holiday data or "holidata," uncovered top getaways offering the highest savings for Thanksgiving and Christmas along with tips for last-minute Thanksgiving travel.

Top Thanksgiving destinations
Based on Expedia.com hotel data¹, travelers will be giving thanks in Sin City, big cities and at the beach this year. Many more will take advantage of the Thanksgiving break to travel abroad, with international destinations such as London and Paris helping round out the list for top destinations. Overall, Cancun is the third most popular destination this year, up from nine last year. Los Angeles, however, dropped off the list this year, down from number four overall last year. The top 15 destinations include:

Las Vegas
New York
Cancun
Orlando
Punta Cana
Playa del Carmen
San Francisco
Anaheim
Honolulu
Chicago
London
Paris
New Orleans
San Diego
Cabo San Lucas

Insider holiday travel tips
"You should absolutely consider when to book if you are looking to save money this year for holiday travel," says Expedia Senior Editor and Travel Expert Sarah Gavin. "Looking at data from last year's holiday season, we found customers hoping to take to the skies for Thanksgiving festivities should act fast, with some of the lowest prices for flights likely to be secured 21-30 days in advance of travel.² As for the December holidays, we found booking air travel 7-13 days in advance of departure could lead to meaningful savings³," she explains.

Expedia has long recommended customers book travel as a package and bundling this holiday season is no different. Gavin explains, "If you're planning to book any combination of a hotel, flight or car rental reservation this holiday season you should absolutely bundle them together. We've found that when doing this simple task, travelers can save up to $600. Think of these savings as a bonus holiday gift that can help put a little something extra under the tree or saved away for a future trip. And this year, it's easier than ever to couple trip components as Expedia recently updated its mobile apps for iOS and Android to support hotel and flight bundle deals."

Head to Mexico for some holiday rest and relaxation
For travelers looking to skip the traditional Thanksgiving gatherings this year and save money while doing so, Expedia analysts found Mexico is a hot spot for packages. Travelers booking a package to Cancun, Isla Mujeres, Riviera Maya, Playa del Carmen, Tulum and Los Cabos can save more than 25%.⁴ Average ticket prices for travelers making their way from New York (JFK) or Los Angeles (LAX) to Cancun (CUN) for Thanksgiving cost on average 20% less this year versus last year⁵.

Travel analysts for Expedia also found New York, Los Angeles and Chicago to Cancun routes are seeing high year-over-year savings for Christmas-time travel as well⁶. Tickets for Christmas-time flights from New York (JFK) to Cancun (CUN) cost, on average, nearly 40% less this year versus last year. Tickets for flights from Los Angeles (LAX) to Cancun (CUN) cost, on average, over 25% less than last year.

Top Christmas-time destinations
Expedia.com hotel data shows that top destinations for Christmas travel this year include Las Vegas, New York, Cancun, Orlando and Punta Cana⁷. Playa de Carmen is also a great destination for savings on hotels during this time where average daily rates are down nearly 15% from the same time period last year. The top 15 destinations include:

Las Vegas
New York
Cancun
Orlando
Punta Cana
Honolulu
Playa del Carmen
London
Anaheim
Cabo San Lucas
Kissimmee
Paris
Puerto Vallarta
San Diego
Tokyo

Top destinations to ring in the New Year
Warm-weather and big city destinations lead the top ten lists of domestic and international destinations for ringing in the New Year. Top domestic destinations include Las Vegas, New York, San Francisco and New Orleans while the most popular international destinations include Cancun, Cabo San Lucas, London and Paris⁸.

IMAGES: High res images of Holiday destinations are available on the Expedia Viewfinder Travel blog.

About Expedia.com
Expedia.com® is one of the world's largest full service travel sites, helping millions of travelers per month easily plan and book travel. Expedia.com (https://www.expedia.com/, 1-800-EXPEDIA) aims to provide the latest technology and the widest selection of top vacation destinations, cheap tickets, hotel deals, car rentals, destination weddings, cruise deals and in-destination activities, attractions, services and travel apps. With the Expedia® Best Price Guarantee, Expedia.com customers can get the best rates available online for all types of travel.

Expedia, Expedia.com, Expedia+, Find Yours, Vacation Deprivation and the Airplane logo are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Expedia, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the property of their respective owners © 2016 Expedia, Inc. All rights reserved. CST # 2029030-50.

SOURCE: Expedia.com
Web site: https://www.expedia.com/

¹ Expedia.com US bookings Jan-Sept 2016; Check-in Dates: Nov 18-24, 2016
² Expedia.com US bookings Jan 1 - Nov 18, 2015 for travel from November 18-24, 2015
³ Expedia.com US bookings Jan 1 - Dec 18, 2015; for travel from Dec 18-24, 2015.
⁴ Expedia.com US bookings Jan-June 2016 for travel in 2016 and 2017.
⁵ Expedia.com US searches Jan-Sept 2016; Departure Dates: Nov 18-24, 2016
⁶ Expedia.com US searches Jan-Sept 2016; Departure Dates: Dec 18-24, 2016
⁷ Expedia.com US bookings Jan-Sept 2016; Check-In Dates: Dec 18-24, 2016
⁸ Expedia.com US bookings Jan-Sept 2016; Check-In Dates: Dec 30, 2016-Jan 2, 2017

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110121/SF33870LOGO-b
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161102/435720
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161102/435721