Phoenix: A top 10 U.S. travel destination

According to Travel Leaders (the travel experts formerly known as Carlson Wagonlit Travel Associates), Phoenix, Ariz., gets high ranks as a travel destination for 2009. More than 540 Travel Leaders owners, managers and frontline travel experts throughout the United States weighed in on a survey taken at year-end 2008. In that survey, they ranked Phoenix in the top 10, placing the metro area #6 on the list of places people plan to visit in 2009.

But with an increasing unsettled economy, people are looking for deals, the survey revealed. A few of the things travelers will be doing in 2009: taking shorter trips; driving instead of flying; and booking less expensive accommodations. Promotions, discounts, and deals will play a greater role in travel plans in the coming year.

So I’ll be digging for those deals and posting them here in the coming months. To see if it matches up with your own travel plans, here’s the complete list:

Top 10 Domestic Destinations: 2009*

1 – Las Vegas, NV

2 – Orlando, FL

3 – Kahului (Maui), HI

4 – Honolulu, HI

5 – New York City, NY

6 – PHOENIX/SCOTTSDALE, AZ

7 – Anchorage, AK

8 – Washington D.C.

9 – San Francisco, CA

10 – Chicago, IL

*According to Travel Leaders’ 2009 Travel Trends Survey

(Photo used with permission by Jackie Dishner.)