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Honolulu is the best destination in the U.S., whooping Yellowstone National Park by a whopping 77 percent margin in an online poll.
Online voting was conducted from the end of May through Wednesday as part of a joint promotion by USA Today and Orbitz, the online travel booking portal. Honolulu’s landslide win was announced yesterday.
"I think Hawaii tourism (officials) got behind it to some degree," said Veronica Stoddart, USA Today travel editor. Voting was open to anyone who registered on the paper’s website.
In fact, voting for Honolulu was promoted by travel industry professionals via social media sites including Twitter and Facebook.
Yellowstone, while reachable by car from most of the U.S., is a national park that does not have its own promotion engine, as Hawaii does.
"You know, I guess that speaks for itself. It wasn’t two warring CVBs (convention and visitor bureaus)," Stoddart said.
Weekly winners in the sweepstakes won $500 in travel credits from Orbitz and included Reginald Elvenia of Hilo. The grand-prize winner, of $2,000 in travel credits, has not yet been identified.
