With the doldrums of summer fully upon us and the urge to hit the road at an all-time high, there’s little doubt Missourians will be driving or flying away before the season ends.
A glance at Google Trends shows there are clear patterns when it comes to the favorite destinations for residents of the Show Me State, ranging from local metropolises to national entertainment destinations like Las Vegas and Orlando.
Whether it be a city like Chicago that’s a brief, 300-mile drive up Interstate 55 from the state line or one of the aforementioned cities, Missourians seem set on where they’ll spend their summer vacations.
BetMissouri.com took a break from coverage of Missouri sports betting issues and utilized Google Trends to determine the most searched cities by each state using the term “Flights To” and finding the most often searched city at the end of the phrase. After completing the trends over the past 12 months (from June 25, 2022, to June 25, 2023), we were able to get the top 3 cities for Missouri.
It’s worth noting no cities within Missouri were included.
Missouri’s Favorite Cities to Visit
Chicago Tops List of Travel Searches For Missouri
It turns out St. Louis’ bad blood with the Chicago Cubs isn’t enough to spoil the state’s connection with the Windy City.
Chicago was the most searched for destination among Missouri residents, beating out Las Vegas and Orlando.
Whether Missourians share a love of deep-dish pizza or there is a sizable contingent of Cubs and White Sox fans in the state, there’s no denying a sizable interest in the city of Chicago.
As for the other two destinations, Las Vegas and Orlando are epicenters of American leisure, with the former hosting a cavalcade of casinos, shows and other entertainment options, while the latter is home to the Magic Kingdom and a host of other theme parks.
Both Las Vegas and Orlando offer summertime discounts as well, which likely drives more traffic from faraway places like Missouri during the searing heat of June through August.
And Vegas adds extra benefits for those who are unhappy there are no Missouri betting apps.
Author
Christopher Boan is a lead writer for BetMissouri.com, specializing in covering state issues. He has covered sports and sports betting in Arizona for more than seven years, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.
