Christmas travel in the US cheaper this year

The US could be a good bet for a holiday this Christmas, with lower prices than last year, according to early research released this week.

Bing Travel said September 20 that it expected US airfare and hotel prices to drop slightly this winter, putting an end to a spate of price rises which have hit US destinations over the summer.

Airfares within the US are expected to fall by just over one percent, while a night at a five star hotel will be some eight percent cheaper than it was last year, said Bing.

Some destinations are seeing even greater price falls, including Florida, which has seen significant price drops, as are several air routes from key air hubs such as New York and Atlanta.

For those traveling to and from other continents, the lowest prices are to be found between New York and Madrid and Paris, Bing calculated, although transatlantic fares have risen slightly.

Travelers choosing a hotel in the US will be pleased to know that they can make up some of that fare on the stay - across three, four and five star properties, the average nightly hotel rate has significantly dropped in destinations such as Las Vegas (nearly 16 percent cheaper than last year), New York (nearly 15 percent cheaper), Cancun (12 percent cheaper) and Washington DC (11 percent cheaper), according to Bing's figures.

http://www.bing.com/travel