NORWALK, Conn., June 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Big cities, with their spectacular fireworks displays, and beaches from Key West to Maui, dominate priceline.com's (Nasdaq: PCLN) 2012 list of the top 50 destinations for the upcoming July 4th holiday.

New York City's Midtown West neighborhood was the most popular destination this year, edging out the Chicago neighborhoods that had occupied the top spot in 2010 and 2011. Priceline.com's annual Top 50 Destinations list is based on hotel room booking requests made by customers using priceline.com's Name Your Own Price® hotel reservation service. Because the survey is based on thousands of credit card-backed booking requests, and not on consumer preference polls or votes, priceline.com believes the annual survey is one of the more accurate predictors of July 4th travel trends.

"This year, there were really two themes," said priceline.com's Travel Ekspert Brian Ek. "Many travelers decided to visit cities like New York, Chicago, Boston and Washington, DC, where there are big July 4th celebrations planned. Others decided to escape the recent heat wave by heading for the beaches."

There were a few surprises on the list this year. "Because the 4th falls on a Wednesday, many travelers are making a week's vacation out of it," said Ek. "And some are splurging a bit on their trips. Hawaii destinations are #6, #9 and #39. This is the first time I've seen Hawaii ranked so high, or so many times. Despite record high international summer airfares, London and Paris made the list, perhaps because of the recent strength of the dollar."

Priceline.com says it still has airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, and air & hotel packages available for July 4th travel. Visit http://www.priceline.com for full details.

Priceline.com's Top 50 Destinations for July 4th 2012

#1        New York City, Midtown West
#2        Chicago, North Michigan Ave./River North Area
#3        San Diego, Downtown & Harbor Island
#4        San Francisco, Fisherman's Wharf
#5        Las Vegas, Strip North
#6        Oahu, Waikiki Beach Area
#7        New York City, Times Square/Theater District
#8        New York City, Upper East Side
#9        Maui, Ka'anapali/Lahaina
#10      Boston, Waterfront/Convention Center
#11      Los Angeles, Santa Monica/Marina Del Rey
#12      Chicago, Millennium Park/Loop & Grant Park
#13      Seattle, Downtown/Pike Place
#14      Orange County, Disneyland/Anaheim North
#15      Niagara Falls, St. Catharines
#16      Las Vegas, Strip Vicinity South
#17      New York City, Midtown East
#18      Paris, Champs Elysees/Arc de Triomphe
#19      Seattle, City Center/Space Needle
#20      Montreal, Downtown/City Center
#21      Portland, Downtown
#22      San Francisco, Union Square East
#23      Milwaukee, Downtown
#24      Orange County, Newport/Huntington Beach
#25      Orange County, Disneyland/Anaheim South/Orange/Garden Grove
#26      Washington, DC, Convention Center/Capitol Hill Area
#27      St. Louis, Downtown
#28      Washington, DC, Crystal City
#29      Newark, Jersey City/Hoboken/Weehawken
#30      New Orleans, French Quarter
#31      Toronto, Downtown/Toronto North
#32      Boston, Harbor Front/Aquarium
#33      London, Westminster
#34      San Antonio, Riverwalk Area
#35      Orlando, Downtown Disney/Lake Buena Vista
#36      San Diego, Coronado
#37      Boston, Copley Square/Back Bay
#38      St. Petersburg, Clearwater Beach
#39      Oahu, Executive Center Area
#40      San Francisco, Financial District/Embarcadero
#41      Chicago, Greater Chicago
#42      Los Angeles, Downtown
#43      Washington, DC, White House/Downtown
#44      Niagara Falls, Buffalo Side
#45      San Diego, Coastal Area
#46      Key West
#47      New York City, Central Park South
#48      Los Angeles, Airport Area
#49      San Francisco, SOMA/Moscone Center
#50      Washington, DC, Dupont Circle/Woodley Park

About The Priceline Group
The Priceline Group (Nasdaq: PCLN) is a leader in global online hotel reservations, with over 235,000 participating hotels worldwide.  The Group is composed of four primary brands – Booking.com, priceline.com, Agoda.com and Rentalcars.com – and several ancillary brands. The Priceline Group provides online travel services in over 175 countries in Europe, North America, South America, the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East and Africa. 

Booking.com is the number one online hotel reservation service in the world, offering over 205,000 hotels (as of May 9, 2012), and is available in 41 languages.  More recent hotel counts are available on the Booking.com website. 

Priceline.com gives leisure travelers multiple ways to save on their airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, vacation packages and cruises. In addition to getting compelling published prices, travelers can take advantage of priceline.com's famous Name Your Own Price® service, which can deliver the lowest prices available.  Agoda.com is an Asia-based online hotel reservation service that is available in 37 languages.  Rentalcars.com is a multinational car hire service, offering its reservation services in over 4,000 locations.  Customer support is provided in 38 languages.

SOURCE Priceline.com