In the battle for domestic travel dollars during the year ahead, the just-released Ypartnership  / Yankelovich 2009 National Travel MONITOR(SM) reveals that the West is likely to win, with the South not far behind. When asked about their interest in visiting specific regions across the country during the next two years, more than seven in ten (72%) leisure travelers said they'd like to visit the western region of the United States, followed by the South with 62 percent (62%), the Northeast with 33 percent (33%) and the Midwest with 21 percent (21%). Interest in the West and Northeast has decreased since 2008, however, while the appeal of the South and Midwest remained consistent.

Interest in visiting on vacation during the next two years (Aided)
Region - % Mentions 2009
West - 72
South - 62
Northeast - 33
Midwest - 21

Florida reigns as the dream destination for American leisure travelers, with one-third (34%) mentioning this state as the destination they would like to visit most during the next two years. California follows at 30 percent (30%), then Arizona and Hawaii, both tied at 16 percent (16%).

Interest in vacationing in selected states (Unaided)
State - % Mentions 2009
Florida - 34
California - 30
Arizona - 16
Hawaii - 16
New York - 15
Washington - 13
Alaska - 12
Colorado - 12
Texas - 12
Nevada - 11

The National Parks dominate Americans' wish-list in 2009, not only as the destination with the greatest interest from leisure travelers, but as the destination with the most growth in consumer appeal since 2008. With a boost of four percentage points, approximately two-thirds of leisure travelers are now very/extremely interested in visiting National Parks (66%), followed  by the Hawaiian Neighbor Islands at 63 percent (63%), with Honolulu (59%), The Florida Keys (45%) and Orlando (40%) rounding out the top five, respectively.

Interest in visiting specific destinations (Aided)
Destination - % Mentions 2009
National Parks (Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, etc.) - 66
Hawaiian Neighbor Islands (Maui, Kauai, etc.) - 63
Honolulu - 59
The Florida Keys - 45
Orlando - 40
San Diego - 39
San Francisco - 38
Las Vegas - 36
New York City - 36
Lake Tahoe - 34

"Given that a lower proportion of U.S. travelers are planning to take an international trip during the next two years, the results of this year's MONITOR underscore the high degree of interest in travel within the United States. And the data suggest there is a wonderful opportunity for preferred destinations to capitalize on this trend," says Peter C. Yesawich, chairman and CEO of Ypartnership.

Ypartnership is a worldwide advertising and public relations agency that specializes in serving travel, leisure and entertainment-industry clients and is co-author of the widely acclaimed National Travel MONITOR(SM) with Yankelovich, Inc.