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 expands to the West Coast.
High temperatures have prompted vacationers to review their plans ahead of the Fourth of July holiday, a time when a large number of 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 Beach, Florida, saw a 32% increase in year-over-year searches, while Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, saw a 30% increase. These are among other popular sites that have seen similar trends.
Context
Major American airlines expect high demand for travel during the summer season. United Airlines expects the Fourth of July weekend to be its busiest ever, and expects to transport an average of 520,000 people per day during this period.
However, data from accommodation searches shows a growing interest in different destinations close to the water, indicating a clear connection to the current heatwave.