Americans shun Middle East as travel destination

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By Ray Hanania

Clockwise from the top: skyline with Burj Khalifa; Burj Al Arab; satellite image showing Palm Jumeirah and The World Islands; Dubai Marina; and Sheikh Zayed road.

While the Middle East and issues related to Arab countries dominate the attention of Americans through news media and national security, most Americans are avoiding travel to Middle East countries.

A recent study by Hotels.com shows that of the top 50 destinations where Americans are traveling, only one Arab Middle East destination, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and only one other Muslim destination, Istanbul, Turkey, have made the list.

Dubai and Turkey ranked 19 and 20 respectively on the list of the top 50 destinations.

The number one destination for Americans is London, followed by Paris (number 2), Toronto (number 3), Rome (number 4), and Vancouver (number 5).

Canada includes six of the top 50 destinations while Mexico and Italy include four locations each. Germany has three locations while many other countries have only one or two.

Frankfurt, Germany, which like Paris, is a connection city for Americans who travel to the Middle East, ranked 50th on the new survey list.

Despite the heavy propaganda from Israel’s high-budget tourism industry, Israel did not make the list either suggesting that when American think of security concerns, Israel is up there along with the Arab countries. Americans are not heading to their occupied beaches.

In contrast, Las Vegas remains the number 1 destination for international travelers who come to the United States. And, Las Vegas is also the number one destination for American travelers, too.

Here is the press release from Hotel.com with charts showing where Americans travel in the US and in foreign countries:

Where Did Americans Travel Most in 2014?

Hotel Price Index Reveals Denver and Charlotte are gaining popularity domestically, while Mexico surges internationally

DALLAS, Jan. 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — To help travelers identify the most popular and trending cities this year – both domestically and internationally – Hotels.com® has released data from its Hotel Price Index™ (HPI®) that highlights the most popular destinations of 2014.

Top Domestic Destinations for Americans

California, Texas and Florida were home to nearly half of the 25 Most Popular Domestic Cities for American travelers in 2014, but it was Denver and Charlotte, N.C. that saw the most growth in popularity among top destinations. Denver overtook Miami as the 14^th most popular U.S. city, while Charlotte surpassed Tampa, Fla. and Myrtle Beach, S.C. to jump into the 24^th spot. Outside the Top 25 cities, Detroit (+2 spots to #27), Phoenix (+3 spots to #28), Kansas City, Mo. (+3 spots to #31) and Salt Lake City (+5 spots to #35) also saw significant jumps in popularity.

50 Most Popular Domestic Cities for Americans
City	FY 2014 vs FY 2013 Change	City	FY 2014 vs FY 2013 Change	City	FY 2014 vs FY 2013 Change
1. Las Vegas, Nev.	No Change	18. Seattle, Wash.	No Change	35. Salt Lake City, Utah	5
2. New York, N.Y.	No Change	19. Anaheim, Calif.	No Change	36. Raleigh, N.C.	No Change
3. Orlando, Fla.	No Change	20. Dallas, Texas	No Change	37. St. Louis, Mo.	-4
4. Los Angeles, Calif.	No Change	21. Nashville, Tenn.	No Change	38. Jacksonville, Fla.	1
5. San Diego, Calif.	No Change	22. Portland, Ore.	No Change	39. Newark, N.J.	-1
6. Chicago, Ill.	No Change	23. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.	No Change	40. Honolulu, Hawaii	-3
7. San Francisco, Calif.	No Change	24. Charlotte, N.C.	2	41. Savannah, Ga.	3
8. Washington, D.C.	No Change	25. Tampa, Fla.	No Change	42. Albuquerque, N.M.	5
9. Houston, Texas	No Change	26. Atlantic City, N.J.	1	43. Columbus, Ohio	-2
10. San Antonio, Texas	No Change	27. Detroit, Mich.	2	44. Charleston, S.C.	2
11. Atlanta, Ga.	No Change	28. Phoenix, Ariz.	3	45. Arlington, Va.	-2
12. Boston, Mass.	No Change	29. Reno, Nev.	-1	46. Scottsdale, Ariz.	-4
13. New Orleans, La.	No Change	30. Myrtle Beach, S.C.	-6	47. Oklahoma City, Okla.	1
14. Denver, Colo.	1	31. Kansas City, Mo.	3	48. Pittsburgh, Pa.	New to List
15. Miami, Fla.	-1	32. Indianapolis, Ind.	No Change	49. Pigeon Forge, Tenn.	No Change
16. Austin, Texas	No Change	33. Baltimore, Md.	-3	50. Memphis, Tenn.	New to List
17. Philadelphia, Pa.	No Change	34. Sacramento, Calif.	1

Top International Destinations for Americans

Mexico continued to surge in popularity with American travelers in 2014. Cancun/Riviera Maya moved up four spots to become the sixth most popular international destination for Americans, surpassing Montreal, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Barcelona. Other Mexican cities to make significant jumps in 2014 were Mexico City (+3 spots to #15) and Vallarta (+7 spots to #38), which saw the most growth of any top international destination.

While London remained the most popular international destination for Americans, Edinburgh – just a few hours north – experienced one of the biggest growth spurts, moving up six places to 44^th. Singapore (+4 spots to #17) and Sydney (+5 spots to #27) also saw major increases in demand.

50 Most Popular International Cities for Americans
City	Country	FY 2014 vs FY 2013 Change	City [Province]	Country	FY 2014 vs FY 2013 Change
1. London	United Kingdom	No Change	26. Munich	Germany	-1
2. Paris	France	No Change	27. Sydney	Australia	+5
3. Toronto	Canada	No Change	28. Prague	Czech Republic	-1
4. Rome	Italy	No Change	29. Copenhagen	Denmark	+7
5. Vancouver	Canada	No Change	30. Beijing	China	-2
6. Cancun/Riviera Maya	Mexico	+4	31. Panama City	Panama	+3
7. Montreal	Canada	+1	32. Milan	Italy	+3
8. Hong Kong	Hong Kong	-1	33. Buenos Aires	Argentina	No Change
9. Tokyo	Japan	-3	34. Carolina	Puerto Rico	-3
10. Barcelona	Spain	-1	35. Vienna	Austria	-5
11. Niagara Falls	Canada	No Change	36. Los Cabos	Mexico	-7
12. Bangkok	Thailand	No Change	37. Bogota	Colombia	No Change
13. Amsterdam	Netherlands	No Change	38. Vallarta	Mexico	+7
14. San Juan	Puerto Rico	No Change	39. Athens	Greece	No Change
15. Mexico City	Mexico	+3	40. Punta Cana	Dominican Republic	+2
16. Madrid	Spain	No Change	41. Edinburgh	United Kingdom	+6
17. Singapore	Singapore	+4	42. Calgary	Canada	+1
18. Florence	Italy	-1	43. Sao Paulo	Brazil	-3
19. Dubai	United Arab Emirates	-4	44. Stockholm	Sweden	New to List
20. Istanbul	Turkey	+2	45. Bali	Indonesia	New to List
21. Venice	Italy	-2	46. Taipei	Taiwan	-2
22. Dublin	Ireland	-2	47. Quebec	Canada	+2
23. Seoul	South Korea	+3	48. Rio De Janeiro	Brazil	-10
24. Berlin	Germany	No Change	49. Lima	Peru	New to List
25. Shanghai	China	-2	50. Frankfurt	Germany	-9

Top U.S. Destinations for International Travelers

Las Vegas has long been the most popular domestic destination for Americans, but when it comes to international travel, New York is king. The most popular U.S. destination among international visitors in 2014 was also the most popular among all international destinations for many Western Europe countries, including France, Germany, Spain and the UK.

Another popular destination was Orlando, which was also the most-visited international destination for Brazilian and Columbian travelers in 2014, and ranked third for all international visitors. Meanwhile, San Antonio was the U.S. destination most visited by travelers from Mexico in 2014, knocking Las Vegas out of the top spot.

To find more travel ideas and tips, follow Hotels.com on Twitter at @hotelsdotcom and #TravelExperts. For exclusive last-minute deals, visit http://www.hotels.com/hotel-deals or download the Hotels.com mobile app.

About Hotels.com (www.hotels.com)

Hotels.com L.P. operates Hotels.com, a leading online accommodation booking website with over 365,000 properties around the world, ranging from international chains and all-inclusive resorts to local favorites and bed & breakfasts, together with all the information needed to book the perfect stay. Special apps for mobile phones and tablets can also be downloaded enabling customers to book on the go with access to 20,000 last minute deals.

© 2015 Hotels.com, LP, Hotels.com, The Obvious Choice, Hotel Price Index, HPI and the Hotels.com logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Hotels.com, LP in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. CST # 2083949-50.

SOURCE Hotels.com

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Op-Ed writer, author, radio host, podcaster at The Arab Daily News

Ray Hanania is an award-winning columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

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Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

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