This week in travel stats the industry was looking ahead to the holidays as new air booking data pointed to the most popular destinations for travel over the Christmas and Thanksgiving holidays.
Most Popular Destinations for Thanksgiving Travel
New booking data from Expedia.com shows that 21 million Americans are set to fly from October through December as the holiday travel season approaches. The OTA has released a look at the most popular destinations for Thanksgiving travel based on its booking data.
Domestic Thanksgiving flight fares are up 17 percent, averaging $467 this year versus $400 in 2013.
Top Destinations for Christmas Air Travel
Expedia also took a look at the most popular destinations for the upcoming Christmas holiday, as determined by air travel.
Prices on Christmas flights have risen modestly year-over-year. Flights over Christmas averaged $482 in 2013 and are averaging $493 in 2014, a 2 percent rise.
Group Rates to Rise in 2015
According to a report in our sister publication, Hotel Management, group business rates are set to rise in 2015 as the industry continues to recover from the effects of the Great Recession.
According to research from Bjorn Hanson, clinical professor for the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality and Tourism and the NYU School of Professional Studies, a rise in occupied room nights is driving a renewed focus in group and meeting sales among hoteliers, driving rate increases.
Top Mobile Etiquette Annoyances
Recently Expedia and Egencia conducted the 2014 Expedia®/Egencia Mobile Index, a global study of mobile-device-related behavior and preferences among travelers in North America, South America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. One part of the report examined the top technology-fueled etiquette violations respondents consider offensive include if done in public.
