CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – Chalk up another honor for the Holy City: A new study says Charleston is maintaining its position as a top choice for summer tourists.
The study, published by WalletHub, ranked Charleston in 12th place among summer travelers. Despite rising gas prices that analysts say could reach a national average of $5 per gallon in the coming weeks, nearly 80% of Americans are planning trips this year.
“As many states in the U.S. and many countries have dropped the vaccine requirements and relaxed the COVID-19 restrictions, travel will go ‘crazy’ this summer,” Techas Tech Asisstant Professor Jing Li said.
WalletHub’s 2022′s Best Summer Travel Destinations study says the Charleston-North Charleston metro area has a lot to attract travelers.
It ranked the factors like the number of attractions, cheapest flights, and weather to come up with the top 100 destinations. For the Charleston-North Charleston area, the study listed the following rankings, first as “best” and 50 as “average:”
- 16th – Local Costs
- 21st – Number of Attractions
- 37th – Duration of Cheapest Flight
- 12th – Cost of Three-Star Hotel
- 3rd – Weather
- 14th – Activities
- 37th – Safety
- 47th – Average Daily COVID-19 Cases in the Past Week per Capita
If you plan to travel, analysts say you should avoid the mistakes that could cost you the most
“I think the most-costly travel mistake would be not booking in advance, Florida State University Assistant Professor Tarik Dogru said. “The closer the time to travel, the more costly the airplane tickets are and the more costly the rooms become due to increased demand and reduced supply. Also, traveling during the weekends, Thursday thru Saturday, when having the flexibility to travel during the weekdays, Sunday thru Wednesday, can be costlier, again due to increased demand during the weekends.”
Dogru said booking an Airbnb for shorter stays can be as expensive as if not more than booking a hotel room. That, Dogru said, is because of cleaning fees and other fees not reflected in the price.
Orlando came in first place in the study, with Washington D.C., Tampa-St. Petersburg, Austin and Salt Lake City rounding out the top five.
South Carolina’s capital city, Columbia, came in 23rd place, while Greenville came in at 51st place.
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