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Written by Shivansh Tiwari
(Reuters) – High temperature warnings made Americans rethink their Fourth of July travel plans and sparked a rush to cooler places for the holidays, data from Booking.com (NASDAQ:.com) showed.
Coastal destinations and those offering water activities emerged as top choices with a third of Americans looking for water-focused vacations, including floating yoga, the travel booking site said in an email to Reuters.
Why is it important
More than 100 million people across the United States were under heat warnings as of Sunday, with cities on the East Coast bracing for record temperatures as a heat dome causing dangerous conditions extends to the West Coast.
Soaring temperatures have prompted vacationers to review their plans ahead of the Fourth of July holiday, a time when many Americans tend to travel.
In numbers
Data from Booking.com showed that nearly 64% of American travelers indicate that rising local temperatures influence them to search for vacation spots with tolerable temperatures.
From July 3-7, Panama City Beach, Florida, saw a 32% year-over-year increase in searches, while Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, saw a 30% increase. These are among other popular sites that have noticed similar trends.
Context
Major American airlines expected a high demand for travel during the summer season. United Airlines expects the Fourth of July weekend to be its busiest on record, and expects to fly an average of 520,000 people per day during the period.
However, data from accommodation searches indicates a growing interest in various destinations near the water, suggesting a clear link with the current heatwave.
