Las Vegas Gains the Largest Increase in Passengers Compared to 2018

ARLINGTON, Va. – June 5, 2019 – Cancun, Mexico, continues to be the top destination for summer travelers flying from the U.S., according to Airlines Reporting Corporation’s (ARC) annual top 10 summer travel analysis. This is the fourth consecutive year that Cancun took the number one spot despite a 3.3% decrease in passenger volume when compared to the same period^* in 2018. Las Vegas (No. 5) saw an 8% increase in passengers, the highest of the top 10 group. Average passenger counts and airfares across the group were virtually flat, down 1.6% and 1% respectively when compared to the same period in 2018.

Los Angeles (No. 9) saw the second highest increase in passengers at 1.5% while the average ticket price to Honolulu (No. 8) decreased the greatest, down 8%, when compared to last year. Conversely, passenger volume to Seattle (No. 7) dropped 6.4%, and the average ticket price to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, grew by 4.7%.

“When we took a holistic look at the top 10 summer destinations in terms of passenger volume, we saw that the levels stayed steady and strong,” said ARC Managing Director of Data Science, Chuck Thackston. “And since the average cost of a ticket also remained effectively unchanged, vacationing in the U.S. and abroad continues to be a great deal.”

The top 10 summer destinations by airline ticket transactions include:

1. Cancun, Mexico
2. New York
3. Orlando, Florida
4. London
5. Las Vegas
6. Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
7. Seattle
8. Honolulu
9. Los Angeles
10. Chicago

Contact:
Peter Abzug
703.816.8158
pabzug@arccorp.com

*Notes for Editors:

• Results are based on roundtrip air tickets purchased from U.S. travel agencies, including online agencies, to worldwide destinations. Results do not include sales of tickets purchased directly from airlines.

Travel includes trips from Memorial Day through Labor Day 2018 and 2019.