The top 10 areas in the U.S most keen for a luxury vacation

New research has discovered the top 10 U.S areas that are most keen for a luxury vacation, with New York taking the top spot. Yacht charter experts Ritzy Charters have analyzed Google Trends data to discover the level of interest in each area for multiple search terms including ‘luxury vacation’, ‘luxury resort’ and ‘luxury vacation rentals’.

New York takes the title of the area most keen for a luxury vacation, with a final score of 80.18. While New York is a tourist hot spot offering an abundance of luxurious activities such as Fifth Avenue shopping, as well as being filled with many extravagant hotels like The Ritz, citizens of the Big Apple are keen for an alternative type of vacation – the state had the highest score overall for ‘luxury villa’, suggesting they want to escape the city for a sunshine destination.

Second on the list is Florida, which earns a final score of 71.09. Despite the Sunshine State boasting many luxury resorts with stunning beaches, including the luxurious Palm Beach, citizens are branching out and are searching for a nautical adventure with the state scoring the highest for both ‘luxury cruise’ and ‘luxury yacht’.

Connecticut takes a bronze medal in third place with a final score of 68.45. Although the top two states in the ranking appear to specify their dream getaway, Connecticut seems to have no preference with the state having the highest score for ‘luxury vacation’ searches.

In fourth place is New Jersey which takes a final score of 61.64. New York may be on the state’s doorstep offering a close-by luxury city break, but New Jersey residents seem to be searching for a trip further away with it taking the highest score for ‘five star resorts’.

Taking the fifth spot is South Carolina, earning a final score of 59.73. Similar to Connecticut, the state scored high for ‘luxury vacation’ searches with a score of 90.  Ranking in sixth place is Georgia. The state’s final score is 59.55, but Georgia appears to be particularly interested in ‘luxury vacation rentals’ with a score of 87 for this term.

Seventh on the list is Virginia, with a final score of 58.45. Like Georgia, Virginia also demonstrated a keen interest in ‘luxury vacation rentals’, scoring 72 for the search term.  Massachusetts places eighth with a final score of 56.91. The capital of the state, Boston, flaunts many five-star hotels, such as the Four Seasons, which would make for a luxurious break without travelling far; however, the state earned a high score of 71 for ‘luxury resorts’, suggesting that they want to head further afar for their getaway.

Following closely behind in ninth place is Washington, D.C, taking a final score of 55.27. While it may be further down in the ranking, Washington, D.C took the highest score for both ‘luxury resorts’ and ‘yacht charter’.  Taking the final spot is Maryland in tenth place which earns a final score of 54.09. The category in which the state scored the highest was ‘luxury vacation’ with a score of 74.

On the opposite end of the scale, North Dakota takes the title of the area with the least interest in a luxury vacation, with a low score of 1.91.  A spokesperson from Ritzy Charters has commented on the findings: “There are many factors that can take your vacation to the next level of luxury, including a five-star hotel, first class transport, and a spectacular destination – and what’s clear in the study is that the East Coast is keen for an extravagant getaway, given that all ten of the areas in the top ten belong to this region.

“However, it’s interesting that some states are considering different types of vacations to others, such as New Jersey searching for resorts while Florida searches for an adventure at sea; it goes to show that you aren’t limited for options when you’re searching for a luxury escape, and there’s something out there for everyone.” The study was conducted by Ritzy Charters, specialists in chartering yachts who offer sailing experiences in a variety of locations from the Caribbean to the Mediterranean.