Vegas is most searched travel spot in 2013; New York doesn’t crack top 10

Greg Keraghosian
·Associate Travel Editor

If there’s one thing that can be said about people who searched on Yahoo in 2013, it’s that they like to have fun. The most-searched travel destination this year was Las Vegas, with Myrtle Beach, S.C. at No. 2 and New Orleans at No. 3.

The rankings are based on hotel searches, which goes a long way toward explaining Vegas and its array of recognizable hotels. And we presume the hotels have to be real, so any searches for the Crystal Palace from “Breaking Bad” might not have counted for Albuquerque, N.M. (Although the site is a real motel called the Crossroads.) Speaking of TV shows, maybe Kenny Powers gave Myrtle a boost this year?

One major surprise from the top 10 is the omission of a certain up-and-coming town called New York City, with its hundreds of hotels, whereas Gatlinburg, Tenn., clocks in at No. 7. Of course, any city named in a Johnny Cash song deserves all the mid-July searches it can get.

Here are the top 10 destinations in order:

1. Las Vegas
2. Myrtle Beach
3. New Orleans
4. Key West
5. Atlantic City
6. Virginia Beach
7. Gatlinburg
8. San Diego
9. San Francisco
10. Santa Barbara