Sunday, June 4, 2023
By Outer Banks Voice on May 14, 2020
According to at least one metric, the Outer Banks is the nation’s “most resilient travel destination during the [COVID-19] lockdown.” That’s if you believe Google.
The nationwide apartment listing service RENTcafe has released a study revealing that, “Out of Americans’ 200 favorite vacation spots, Outer Banks, NC saw the smallest drop in online searches, suggesting that with summer nearing, even this year, people are dreaming of sandy beaches.”
RENTcafe reached that conclusion after looking at travel-related Google searches for more than 200 popular destinations and finding that overall, those searches dropped by 64% in March and April 2020 compared with the same period the previous year. But the search drop-off for OBX, at only 25% during the pandemic lockdown, was the smallest of any of the destinations studied — and by a significant margin.
Next came Yellowstone National Park, where searches dropped by 36%, followed by Fairbanks, AK, (also -36%), Aspen, CO (-40%), and Honolulu, HI (-40%).
For the record, the Voice neither endorses nor disavows RENTcafe’s methodology for determining the popularity of tourist destinations.
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surf123
The Outer Banks Voice just got played for some free advertising. No one had ever heard of this company until now. Of course no one will use them, but that is besides the point.