Hawaii, Mexico Are Tops in Emerging Destinations

Hawaii bumped Las Vegas out of the top spot as the U.S. destination that travel agents expect to be “up and coming” this year, according to a poll released last week by a committee of travel agent groups, airlines and the Airlines Reporting Corp.

In explaining the change from a poll taken in 2000, Kathleen Argiropoulos, a vice president at ARC, said Hawaii “has all the elements of a tropical vacation, but you don’t need a passport to go.”

Reluctance to travel far from home was also reflected in the international favorites. Mexico topped the list, followed by the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and the Caribbean.

Australia, Italy and Ireland, which were among the top destinations in 2000, didn’t make the cut this year.