Anchorage Ranked No. 6 on List of Top Domestic Destinations

Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 2/26/2007

Corporate travel management firm Carlson Wagonlit's 2007 Travel Trends Survey ranked Anchorage, Alaska, No. 6 on its list of the top 10 domestic travel destinations.

Las Vegas was No. 1, followed by Orlando; Honolulu; Maui, Hawaii; and New York City. Miami came in at No. 7, just behind Anchorage.

Carlson Wagonlit conducted the survey in December 2006, with 507 U.S. travel agency owners, managers and agents. The survey asked them about the most popular U.S. destinations for 2007, based on actual bookings to date.

Clients are feeling more confident about traveling farther from home, said Bruce Bustamante, Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau president and CEO. He said that, though Alaska is often thought of as the trip of a lifetime, Anchorage is as easily accessed as destinations in the so-called "lower 48" states.

In another Carlson Wagonlit survey, Alaska came in second on a list of top five cruise destinations.

Nance Larsen, ACVB vice president of communications and marketing programs, said the bureau planned to use the destination ranking to attract more convention and group travel business. "Anything like this gives us strong appeal as a meetings destination, because there are a lot of pre- and post-meeting opportunities for activities in Anchorage," she added.