According to data provided by Florida Rentals, Myrtle Beach is not on the list of top Google search vacation destinations. This despite the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce spending over $50 million annually in marketing dollars.
Myrtle Beach Area Chamber Accolades debunk Florida rentals’ claim.
The numbers appear suspicious. A quick review of Expedia travel searches shows:
FLORIDA RENTALS CLAIMS, however, the most popular vacation states are:
- Florida is the most Googled state for vacation, receiving more than 150,000 Google searches a month
- Hawaii and California take second and third, respectively
Florida is the most popular state for a vacation, new research has revealed the rental company claims.
The study by vacation rental marketplace FloridaRentals.com analyzed Google searches for each state on vacation packages, rentals, and spots to see which states were most popular for a vacation.
It found that Florida was the most popular state for a vacation. The Sunshine State receives, on average, 155,110 searches from vacation-goers every single month. In addition to visitors from other states, more than 10 million overseas tourists visit the state annually.
Hawaii comes in second place on the list, with average monthly searches for vacations in the state sitting at 125,590. A 2019 study from the Hawaii Tourism Authority found that tourist spending in the state brought in more than $17 billion a year, supporting more than 216,000 jobs.
The state with the next highest number of searches is California, with 30,680 on average every month, giving it the third-place position. Visitation to the state is constantly increasing over the past few years, up 22% in 2022 and predicted to increase by 8% in 2023.
Colorado takes fourth place on the list, with 29,840 average vacation searches every month for the Centennial State. A study from the Colorado Tourism Office found that tourism saves every Colorado household $670 annually in taxes based on the $1.5 billion in state and local taxes paid annually by visitors.
Rounding out the top five is Maine, which receives more than 28,260 searches a month from vacation-goers. A lot of Maine’s visitation comes from Canada; in 2019, Canada accounted for 5.4 million visitors.
| Rank | State | Average monthly vacation searches |
| 1 | Florida | 155,110 |
| 2 | Hawaii | 125,590 |
| 3 | California | 30,680 |
| 4 | Colorado | 29,840 |
| 5 | Maine | 28,260 |
| 6 | Michigan | 24,200 |
| 7 | Alaska | 21,460 |
| 8 | Oregon | 20,530 |
| 9 | Texas | 20,150 |
| 10 | Tennessee | 16,250 |
Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson for FloridaRentals said: “It’s interesting to see the huge difference in popularity and search volumes between Florida, Hawaii, and other states on the list. The sheer demand for vacations in these states may even influence vacation-goers to branch out and look elsewhere for their plans in 2023.”
This study was conducted by FloridaRentals.com. MyrtleBeachSC News finds this claim untrue.