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Booming
Beach Destinations
 (ARA)
- This is the time of year when the winter blues
are setting in for many outside the Sun Belt,
which always means big business for winter beach
destinations. It’s usually not hard to spot
those who’ve been sun-starved all winter, as
they may be getting off airplanes in places like
Boston, Detroit or Chicago in shorts when
arriving home to February temperatures in the
teens.
The question is where are beachgoers headed
during the winter months? It’s no surprise the
most popular domestic winter beach destinations
are in Florida, California and Hawaii. After
all, they offer the most coast line, a warm
climate and post card images of sunshine, palm
trees and ocean waters. Internationally, the
same can be said for Mexico.
These locales annually boast many of the top
beach destinations. However as travel levels
rise and lodging construction continues, many
are also aggressively marketing their
destinations, and riding the wave of tourism to
lure more travelers to what are already
historically popular beach cities. As a result,
there’s been continued growth in many top spots.
In fact, online travel agency Orbitz recently
set out for the sandy beaches to determine which
winter beach destinations are the fastest
growing.
Topping the Orbitz list domestically is Maui,
HI, which edged out a handful of popular beach
cities in Florida, as the fastest growing winter
beach destination. Hawaii’s Big Island also
landed the third-ranked vacation spot in Kailua-Kona,
which continues to rise in popularity.
Florida landed five of the top 10 on the list,
which measured percentage growth in hotel
bookings from late December through the end of
February over a three-year period to compile its
Index. The most popular Florida beaches include
Daytona Beach, which is number two, as well as
Key West, Fort Lauderdale/Miami, Sarasota and
Fort Myers.
California beaches in San Diego and Santa Monica
were also in the top 10, as was historic
Charleston, SC.
In Mexico, Cozumel continues to be among its
most popular beaches and now it also has the
distinction of being its fastest growing
internationally, Orbitz says. At number one,
Cozumel was one of six Mexican beach
destinations to make the list; the others
included Riviera Maya/Playa Del Carmen (number
two) as well as Cancun, Acapulco, Ixtapa and
Mazatlan. Negril, Jamaica, Rio de Janeiro, Aruba
and Bermuda rounded out the international top
10.
When planning a beach vacation, there are a
myriad of options and some destinations are
better than others depending on your needs and
interests. For example, some are better for
families, romance or a getaway with friends.
Some tips to keep in mind when planning a winter
beach getaway:
* Book a vacation package and book online.
Combining air and hotel is a great way to save
on trip costs. Online booking can also help you
save.
* Be flexible with travel dates. Traveling at
off-peak times will enable you to avoid some of
the crowds and find better rates.
* Plan and book early. Generally, the further in
advance you can book, the better your chances of
finding a good deal.
* It’s never too late! While it’s always
advisable to plan ahead and book early, it’s
never too late to get away. If you’re still
anxious to go but haven’t booked yet, keep your
eye out for last-minute specials and you might
be surprised by what you find.
* If flying out of a cold weather climate, take
the earliest flight possible. Your chances of
incurring a delay are much greater late in the
day.
* If you can, leave the laptop and PDA behind.
It’s much easier to unwind with sand between
your toes if you leave your work at home.
Courtesy of ARAcontent |
