The emirate of Dubai ranked as the number 2 destination for travelers this New Year season, according to a survey conducted by CheapHotels.org. Dubai beat out Miami Beach, which ranked 3 on the CheapHotels survey list.
The number 1 destination is Cancun, Mexico, according tot he survey.
Dubai is only one of two Middle East destinations to make the top 30 travel destination list in the CheapHotels annual survey. The other Arab destination is Doha in Qatar, which was ranked 23.
Dubai indoor Ski SlopeSpecifically, the survey established the rate for the cheapest available double room for 30 major destinations across the globe. The period spanning December 30, 2015 to January 2, 2016 (3 nights) was used as the comparative time frame. Only centrally located hotels with a rating of at least 3 stars and having a positive overall average guest rating were considered.
In Miami Beach, year-end travelers will have to spend $286 per night for the most affordable room. Compared to prices in the Floridian resort city on a regular date during January, that’s an increase of almost 300%.
Only two destinations elsewhere in the world are slightly more expensive. Dubai, the biggest city in the United Arab Emirates, and the famous Mexican beach resort of Cancun outrank Miami Beach with rates of $302 and $311 per night, respectively.
The second most expensive U.S. destination behind Miami Beach is Los Angeles. It ranks fourth priciest overall on the survey at a nightly rate of $272. The least expensive locales in which to spend New Year’s Eve among the destinations considered are Shanghai, Buenos Aires and Colombia’s capital, Bogota. There overnight guests this year end should find a room for less than $50 per night.
The following table shows the rankings of the top 30 destinations in the world for New Year’s Eve. The rates indicated reflect the price for the cheapest available double room for the period spanning December 30 to January 2 (3 nights). Only hotels with a central location, rated at least 3 stars and possessing a positive average client rating have been considered.
A comparison with regular rates is shown in brackets. The percentage changes reflect the difference from the nightly rate for the most affordable double room during the January 13–16, 2016 time period.
- Cancun $311 (+274%)
- Dubai $302 (+176%)
- Miami Beach $286 (+289%)
- Los Angeles $272 (+76%)
- Edinburgh $268 (+396%)
- New Orleans $249 (+179%)
- Honolulu $246 (+98%)
- New York $245 (+176%)
- Punta Cana $239 (+97%)
- Rio de Janeiro $232 (+295%)
- Sydney (Australia) $225 (+196%)
- Amsterdam (Netherlands) $217 (+239%)
- Tokyo (Japan) $216 (+176%)
- Las Vegas (Nevada) $208 (+225%)
- Hong Kong $179 (+85%)
- Singapore $164 (+121%)
- London (England) $161 (+85%)
- Berlin (Germany) $152 (+157%)
- Cape Town(South Africa) $147 (+200%)
- Toronto (Canada) $122 (+51%)
- Barcelona (Spain) $116 (+182%)
- Paris (France) $116 (+57%)
- Doha (Qatar) $82 (+2%)
- Rome (Italy) $73 (+88%)
- Seoul (South Korea) $73 (+59%)
- Bangkok (Thailand) $62 (+55%)
- Moscow (Russia) $55 (+61%)
- Bogota (Colombia) $42 (-8%)
- Shanghai (China)) $39 (+14%)
- Buenos Aires (Argentina) $38 (+22%)
For the full rankings of the survey, click here.
Ray Hanania is an award winning political and humor columnist who analyzes American and Middle East politics, and life in general. He is an author of several books.
Hanania covered Chicago Politics and Chicago City Hall from 1976 through 1992 at the Daily Southtown and the Chicago Sun-Times. He began writing in 1975 publishing The Middle Eastern Voice newspaper in Chicago (1975-1977). He later published “The National Arab American Times” newspaper (2004-2007).
Hanania writes weekly columns on Middle East and American Arab issues as Special US Correspondent for the Arab News ArabNews.com, at TheArabDailyNews.com, and at SuburbanChicagoland.com. He has published weekly columns in the Jerusalem Post newspaper, YNetNews.com, Newsday, the Orlando Sentinel, Houston Chronical, and Arlington Heights Daily Herald.
Hanania is the recipient of four (4) Chicago Headline Club “Peter Lisagor Awards” for Column writing. In November 2006, he was named “Best Ethnic American Columnist” by the New American Media. In 2009, Hanania received the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Award for Writing from the Society of Professional Journalists. He is the recipient of the MT Mehdi Courage in Journalism Award. He was honored for his writing skills with two (2) Chicago Stick-o-Type awards from the Chicago Newspaper Guild. In 1990, Hanania was nominated by the Chicago Sun-Times editors for a Pulitzer Prize for his four-part series on the Palestinian Intifada.
His writings have also been honored by two national Awards from ADC for his writing, and from the National Arab American Journalists Association.
Hanania is the US Special Correspondent for the Arab News Newspaper, covering Middle East and Arab American issues. He writes for the Southwest News newspaper group writing on mainstream American issues.
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