THE HOTEL PRICE INDEX 2011 – U.S. Chapter 4: American Travel Habits TOP U.S. DESTINATIONS FOR AMERICAN TRAVELERS: DOMESTIC RETREATS Despite hotel room rates rising an average of 10% from the last year, Las Vegas once again ranks number one in Americans’ hearts as their favorite U.S. travel desti- nation. Sin City was followed closely by the Big Apple with New York in second place, and Orlando coming in as the third most popular U.S destination. Of the top 10 most popular domestic destinations for Americans, three cities are in California. San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles ranked as the fifth, sixth and seventh most popular destinations, respectively. Two cities in Texas, Houston and San Antonio, rounded out the top ten most popular destinations in ninth and tenth place, respectively. TOP TEN DOMESTIC DESTINATIONS FOR AMERICANS Rank City State 1 Las Vegas NV 2 New York NY 3 Orlando FL 4 Chicago IL 5 San Diego CA 6 San Francisco CA 7 Los Angeles CA 8 Washington DC 9 Houston TX 10 San Antonio TX 23 Chapter 4: American Travel Habits THE HOTEL PRICE INDEX 2011 – U.S. Chapter 4: American Travel Habits (Continued) TOP OVERSEAS DESTINATIONS FOR AMERICANS: SPENDING MORE WHEN ABROAD Americans paid on average $52 more for a hotel room while overseas compared to when they traveled within the United States. Despite a weak dollar against both the British pound and the euro, Americans can’t get enough of our neighbors across the pond. Between April’s royal wedding and the excitement surrounding the upcoming 2012 Summer Olympic Games, London yet again ranks as Americans’ favorite international destination. The historic cities and cultural hubs of Paris and Rome hold steady as the second and third most popular destinations abroad. Americans continue to head north to visit our Canadian neighbors. Toronto, appeal- ing to extreme adventurers with this summer’s opening of “Edge Walk”, the chance to dangle from the outside of Toronto’s CN Tower (one of the world’s largest struc- tures), once again took top honors as the most visited Canadian city by Americans, followed by Vancouver and then Montreal. Climbing two spots, Hong Kong moves from the tenth to the eighth most popular overseas destination. Even with repeated warnings from the U.S. Department of State about traveling to Mexico due to crime, Cancun remains a favorite among American travelers look- ing to escape and soak up the sun, ranking as the tenth most popular destination abroad. TOP 10 INTERNATIONAL DESTINATIONS FOR U.S. TRAVELERS Rank City Country 1 London United Kingdom 2 Paris France 3 Rome Italy 4 Toronto, ON Canada 5 Vancouver, BC Canada 6 Barcelona Spain & Canary Islands 7 Montreal, QC Canada 8 Hong Kong China 9 Madrid Spain & Canary Islands 10 Cancun Mexico 24 Chapter 4: American Travel Habits THE HOTEL PRICE INDEX 2011 – U.S. Chapter 4: American Travel Habits TOP U.S. DESTINATIONS FOR OVERSEAS VISITORS: WELCOMING FOREIGN FRIENDS Many U.S. hotels, seeking a rebound from the deep decline during the recession, continue to work toward internationalizing their product and outlook to attract both European and Asian visitors. With the greatest growth in tourism seen among Chinese travelers, major hotel chains such as Hilton Worldwide Inc. and Starwood Hotels & Resorts World- wide are responding with special offerings including not only translation services but Chinese-speaking front desk assistance, Chinese food items and utensils, plus ritualistic in-room amenities such as tea service and slippers. Last year, 802,000 visitors from mainland China report- edly visited the U.S. over 2009 and the U.S. Department of Commerce estimates numbers to reach 994,000 in 2011. New York took top honors as the favorite American city among travelers from over- seas, followed by Las Vegas as travelers’ second favorite city. Foreign travelers preferred to visit the East and West coasts of the United States. Florida hotspots Orlando and Miami moved up on the list as the third and fourth most visited places by foreign travelers. Chicago, the eighth most popular U.S. destination, was the only city located in cen- tral U.S. to rank in the top ten destinations for overseas visitors. TOP 10 U.S. DESTINATIONS FOR TRAVELERS FROM OVERSEAS Rank City State 1 New York NY 2 Las Vegas NV 3 Orlando FL 4 Miami FL 5 San Francisco CA 6 Los Angeles CA 7 Honolulu HI 8 Chicago IL 9 San Diego CA 10 Washington DC 25 Chapter 4: American Travel Habits THE HOTEL PRICE INDEX 2011 – U.S. Chapter 5: Top Asian, Caribbean, and Latin American Destinations AMERICANS TRAVELING TO ASIA: SEEING AN UPTURN The first two quarters of 2011 were challenging for Asia tourism as earth- quakes and several typhoons shook the region. Despite these factors, Asia is still an up-and-coming region for American travelers and demand is rising as the region saw average prices paid for hotel rooms rise slightly, by 1%. Hong Kong ranked as the eighth most visited overseas city by Americans in 2011 while other Asian cities including Bangkok, Shanghai, Beijing, Dubai and Singapore ranked in the top 25 most visited international destinations by Americans. While New York’s wildly success- ful Broadway revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific closed its curtains in August 2010, it has likely inspired travel to French Poly- nesia ever since. One of the most expensive countries to visit in Asia, French Polynesia boasts three of the top five most expensive resort areas to find a hotel in the world, with Bora Bora again taking top honors with rooms averaging $802 a night, demonstrating a 37% year-over-year increase from 2010. Christchurch, New Zealand’s devastating earthquake caused hotel prices to soar 38% due to the lack of hotel rooms available. International guest bookings dropped in February by 25% and only 10 of 33 hotels are open. While New York has historically held the legendary title of “the city that never sleeps”, a recent online global survey determined that no city in the world sleeps less than Cairo, the strife-torn capital of Egypt, thereby earning it the title the “world’s most 24-hour city.” However, there’s no arguing the Arab Spring and continued regional turmoil had a profound effect on the region’s hotel industry. Travelers looking for a luxury property can find great deals in Cairo and Beijing, where 5-star properties cost $204 and $206 respectively. Giza, Egypt, famous for the Great Sphinx and the Great Pyramid of Giza saw the largest regional 26 Chapter 5: Top Asian, Caribbean, and Latin American Destinations THE HOTEL PRICE INDEX 2011 – U.S. Chapter 5: Top Asian, Caribbean, and Latin American Destinations (Continued) hotel room price drop in the first half of 2011 when prices plummeted 45% over last year. Amman, Jordan also saw room rates drop 10%. Doha, Qatar experienced a 30% decrease in room rates, however not due to civil unrest, but likely because the market has been saturated with new hotel properties. Backpackers and travelers looking for deals should explore Asia’s lesser known hot spots including Hoi An, Vietnam, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh and Chiang Mai, Thailand, before prices for hotel rooms in these emerging destinations skyrocket. MOST EXPENSIVE ASIAN DESTINATIONS City Country 2010 2011 YoY ADR 1 Bora Bora French Polynesia $585.70 $801.58 37% 2 Moorea French Polynesia $375.33 $509.66 36% 3 Muscat Oman $243.82 $258.59 6% 4 Faaa French Polynesia $204.50 $214.99 5% 5 Singapore Singapore $182.27 $214.49 18% 6 Tel Aviv Israel $189.43 $206.21 9% 7 Jerusalem Israel $197.71 $204.26 3% 8 Eilat Israel $194.86 $200.15 3% 9 Manama Bahrain $172.83 $195.07 13% 10 Seminyak Indonesia $195.13 $190.12 (3%) LEAST EXPENSIVE ASIAN DESTINATIONS City Country 2010 2011 YoY ADR 1 Hoi An Vietnam $54.85 $70.43 28% 2 Phnom Penh Cambodia $77.39 $72.74 (6%) 3 Cebu Philippines $78.13 $80.92 4% 4 Manila Philippines $83.33 $81.04 (3%) 5 Siem Reap Cambodia $81.13 $81.25 0% 6 Pattaya Thailand $90.64 $83.12 (8%) 7 Boracay Philippines $89.26 $86.98 (3%) 8 Jaipur India $116.37 $87.08 (25%) 9 Chiang Mai Thailand $76.10 $88.81 17% 10 Narita Japan $104.45 $91.55 (12%) 27 Chapter 5: Top Asian, Caribbean, and Latin American Destinations THE HOTEL PRICE INDEX 2011 – U.S. Chapter 5: Top Asian, Caribbean, and Latin American Destinations (Continued) GREATEST ASIAN PRICE DECREASES City Country 2010 2011 YoY ADR 1 Doha Qatar $240.45 $167.86 (30%) 2 Jaipur India $116.37 $87.08 (25%) 3 Beirut Lebanon $205.26 $157.53 (23%) 4 Nha Trang Vietnam $116.84 $92.42 (21%) 5 Nagoya Japan $115.84 $97.40 (16%) 6 Kyoto Japan $165.00 $139.82 (15%) 7 Narita Japan $104.45 $91.55 (12%) 8 Ankara Turkey $131.57 $116.29 (12%) 9 Bengaluru India $161.25 $144.04 (11%) 10 Amman Jordan $157.60 $142.13 (10%) GREATEST ASIAN PRICE INCREASES City Country 2010 2011 YoY ADR 1 Perth Australia $146.67 $218.57 49% 2 Christchurch New Zealand $96.31 $132.91 38% 3 Bora Bora French Polynesia $585.70 $801.58 37% 4 Moorea French Polynesia $375.33 $509.66 36% 5 Gold Coast Australia $114.63 $154.88 35% 6 Nadi Fiji $105.05 $139.93 33% 7 Tung Chung China $143.30 $189.25 32% 8 Calcutta India $125.35 $163.21 30% 9 Brisbane Australia $135.78 $176.72 30% 10 Hangzhou China $104.61 $135.10 29% 28 Chapter 5: Top Asian, Caribbean, and Latin American Destinations THE HOTEL PRICE INDEX 2011 – U.S.