Yahoo! Search Trends: 4th of July

The Fourth falls on a Monday this year, which means a three-day weekend for many. As holiday travel season approaches, prices at the pump have dropped and so have gas-related searches on Yahoo!. Lookups have dropped an average of 44% since May, when prices peaked at the national average $4 per gallon. Could this be a sign that people will be staying closer to home for the 4th or hitting the road to find the best fireworks display out there?

Top Fireworks Destinations:
Fireworks make the Fourth of July magical for people of all ages and this year is no exception. Yahoo! Travel editor, Deborah Hopewell identifies the top destinations to take in the Fourth of July this year from classic and historic celebrations to the more adventurous and tropical.

Yahoo! Travel Editor Deborah Hopewell offers her “Top 8 Destinations to take in the Fourth of July”:
1. New York: “Gift of Freedom,” the 35th Annual Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks, will feature more than 40,000 fireworks expertly synchronized to a dynamic score while being simultaneously set off from six barges. A true sight to see!
2. Boston: The Boston Pops Orchestra concert, preceding the fireworks display, includes its famous 1812 Overture, complete with church bells and cannon fire next to the Charles River.
3. Lahaina, Maui: The huge fireworks display can be viewed from anywhere along the Lahaina waterfront, making for a truly unique and tropical Fourth.
4. Fort Worth, TX: Fireworks not your thing? Willie Nelson’s Annual 4th of July Picnic & Throwdown has a not-to-be-missed afternoon and evening full of performances by artists from all musical genres.
5. San Francisco: Fourth of July Waterfront Celebration over San Francisco Bay.
6. New Orleans: 21st annual “Go 4th on the River” is a New Orleans–style party on the waterfront that culminates in the fireworks show set off from the “Dueling Barges.”
7. Washington, D.C.: The noontime parade travels on Constitution Avenue along the National Mall from 7th to 17th Street, followed by spectacular pyrotechnics on the National Mall, when fireworks seem to explode above the Lincoln and Washington monuments.
8. South Lake Tahoe: “Lights on the Lake,” where food vendors and entertainers fill the shores and docks, is ranked one of the five best fireworks displays in the nation by the American Pyrotechnics Association.

Top Amusement Parks:
Amusement parks are one of the top ways families plan to have fun this Fourth of July. Already top-ranked destinations are rising even more as searches on Yahoo! Travel are spiking for Disneyland (searches are up 21%), Six Flags (searches are up 44%), Kings Island (searches are up 70%), and Wisconsin Dells (searches are up 72%). However, frugality is top of mind this year with Americans as searches are spiking for “discount Hershey Park tickets” and (searches are up 2,456%), “Dollywood discount tickets” (searches are up 119%)which indicate that even though people are looking for ways to have fun they are more concerned with saving a few bucks this holiday season.

Roughing It: Camping Trends
Do you have your camping checklist ready? People across the country are prepping theirs, as searches on Yahoo! Travel for “camping checklist” surged 4,072% in the past 30 days. There has also been a spring and early summer surge in searches for “used campers” (searches are up 724%), “camping supplies” (searches are up 341%), “camping tents” (searches are up 40%), and “camping recipes” (spiking off the charts).

According to Yahoo! Travel, the Top Searched National Parks, this Month are:
1. Yosemite National Park, California
2. Yellowstone Park, Wyoming, Montana & Idaho
3. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
4. Glacier National Park, Montana
5. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
6. Sequoia National Park, California
7. Zion National Park, Utah
8. Joshua Tree National Park, California
9. Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
10. Estes National Park, Colorado

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