ROMANTIC DESTINATIONS & HONEYMOONS in USA

Romantic Getaways

According to the U.S. Travel Association (USTA, www.ustravel.org), more than 42 million Americans take at least one trip each year to attend a wedding, go on a honeymoon, or celebrate an anniversary. This equates to 20% of all U.S. adults traveling for romance-related purposes each year.

USTA found that romance-related travel is most popular among Baby Boomers -41% of romance travelers are in this demographic. Sixty-seven percent (67%) of romance-related travelers are married, and 38% have annual household incomes of $50,000 or more.

A recent survey by USTA found that 72% of U.S. adults believe traveling inspires romance.

Romantic Destinations

Among the readers of Conde Nast Traveler, at least 50% of whom are seasoned romantic travelers, 83% travel for romance as an opportunity to spend time alone with their partner. Almost 50% hope to rejuvenate an existing romance, a little more than 10% plan to propose or try to solve relationship problems, and 8% travel to meet someone new. To make a romantic trip work, survey participants said they look for good weather, privacy, and scenery. Luxurious accommodations and great food and wine are important, too.

• Carmel, CA • Savannah, GA

• Honolulu, HI • Santa Barbara, CA

• San Francisco, CA • Santa Fe, NM

• Charleston, SC • Aspen, CO

Destination Weddings

Destination weddings, generally held at romantic or exotic locales, make up 24% of weddings, according to The Knot.

The average budget for a destination wedding is $28,000, with 60% of destination couples paying for the wedding themselves. Guests at a destination wedding spend an average of $400 to attend.

Las Vegas is the most popular destination for weddings. Approximately 150,000 couples are married in Las Vegas each year, representing about 6% of the some

2.2 million marriages in the United States. Unlike the low-budget wedding chapel weddings for which the city is famous, most Las Vegas weddings are extravagant affairs.

Honeymoon Travel

The honeymoon segment is a $12 billion-dollar-a-year industry. On average, this accounts for 14% of the wedding budget.

Couples spend an average $4,466 on their honeymoon, three times as much as the average U.S. adult spends on a vacation. The length of an average honeymoon is eight days. Luxury honeymooners, which comprise 15% of the market, spend an average of $9,954 and vacation for 11 days.

An estimated 1.4 million U.S. couples per year go on honeymoon. Among couples who choose a traditional wedding, 99% take a honeymoon, and 62% of couples pay for most of their honeymoon on their own. Of all honeymoon trips, 37% are to domestic locations; 63% are to foreign locales. Ten percent (10%) of newlyweds take cruises for their honeymoon.

Honeymoon Destinations

Faceblog assessed users who posted that they were just married and then checked in from their honeymoon. This assessment found the top U.S. honeymoon destinations as follows:

1. Las Vegas, NV

2. Lahaina, Maui, HI

3. Honolulu, HI

4. Lihue, Kauai, HI

5. Key West, FL

6. Poipu, Kauai, HI

7. Kihel, Maiu, HI

8. Gatlinburg, TN

9. New York, NY

10. Lake Buena Vista, FL

The top international honeymoon destinations were as follows:

1. Playa del Carmen, Mexico

2. Cancun, Mexico

3. Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

4. Montego Bay, Jamaica

5. Antalya, Turkey

6. Castries, St. Lucia

7. Gramado, Brazil

8. Bodrum, Turkey

9. Gros Islet, St. Lucia

10. Male, Maldives

Valentine’s Day Travel

In the American Travel Behavior Survey, conducted by The Harris Poll (www.theharrispoll.com) for Hotwire (www.hotwire.com), adults said they prefer to plan a weekend trip around Valentine’s Day more than any other non-major holiday of the year. Travelers often find Valentine’s Day weekend trips more affordable than other holiday travel because many destinations are in their off-season.

Hotwire suggests the following destinations for Valentine’s Day weekend trips:

• Chicago, IL

• Las Vegas, NV

• Los Angeles, CA

• Miami, FL

• New York, NY

• Orlando, FL

• Phoenix, AZ

• San Diego, CA

• San Francisco, CA

• Washington, DC

55.7 Anniversary Travel

A Readers’ Choice poll by USA Today (www.10Best.com) ranked the best destinations for an anniversary trip as follows:

1. Kauai, HI

2. Sedona, AZ

3. Telluride, CO

4. Charleston, SC

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