STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Planning to do some domestic travel this summer, but unsure of where to visit? We’ve got you covered.
On Tuesday, WalletHub, an online financial advisory site, released its annual list of 2023 Best U.S. Summer Travel Destinations, with the New York City metro area ranking fifth.
“Inflation may be putting a strain on people’s finances, but it’s not dampening their summer plans. In fact, nearly 85% of Americans plan to travel this summer, with 44% taking more than one trip. The only question is: Where should you go?” wrote Adam McCann of WalletHub.
The study analyzed 41 key indicators of a positive travel destination across 100 U.S. metro areas to develop a comprehensive ranking of the best places to visit this summer.
The key indicators were grouped into six categories: travel costs and hassles; local costs; attractions; activities; safety; weather.
Indicators in the travel costs and hassles category included, but were not limited to: cost and duration of cheapest flight; cost and duration of shortest flight; share of delayed flights.
Indicators in the local costs category included, but were not limited to: cost of living; average gas prices; hotel prices; meal prices.
Indicators in the attractions category included number of attractions and diversity of attractions.
Indicators in the activities category included, but were not limited to: restaurants per capita; amusement parks per capita; music venues per capita; shopping centers per capita.
Indicators in the safety category included violent crime rate and property crime rate.
The weather category was based on WalletHub’s “Cities with the Best & Worst Weather” ranking, penalizing the metro areas with extreme weather.
Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale and then weighted to develop a ranking within each category and an overall score for each state.
The New York City metro area ranked fifth with an overall score of 63.22, roughly three points behind the top-ranked Atlanta, Ga., metro area.
Despite ranking 66th in weather and 83rd in local costs, New York City was carried by its impressive performances in the attractions and activities categories, ranking second and seventh, respectively.
New York City also ranked 25th in safety and 27th in travel costs and hassles.
The Atlanta, Ga., metro area ranked first overall, with a score 66.63. It ranked eight in activities, ninth in travel costs and hassles, 15th in weather, 16th in attractions, 20th in local costs and 55th in safety.
The Urban Honolulu, Hawaii metro area ranked second overall with a score of 65.33. It ranked first in weather, second in activities, fourth in safety, sixth in travel costs and hassles, 18th in attractions and 96th in local costs.
The Washington, D.C., metro area ranked third overall, with a score of 64.07. It ranked second in safety, 15th in attractions, 17th in activities, 19th in weather, 21st in travel costs and hassles and 78th in local costs.
The Wichita, Kansas, metro area ranked fourth overall, with a score of 63.5. It ranked fifth in safety, sixth in local costs, seventh in travel costs and hassles, 33rd in weather, 76 in attractions and 91st in activities.
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