Branson’s one of the top places in the nation to bring a family on vacation.
A recent survey performed by D.K. Shifflet & Associates, of McLean, Va., ranked Branson as No. 9 on its list of the Top Ten Family Summer Vacations.
“We’re very proud to receive a ranking like that,” said Ross Summers, Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce president and CEO. DKSA, the leading consumer travel research firm in the United States, based its rankings on the number of “person days” family vacation visitors spent in each city. Person days are calculated by multiplying the number of people in a travel party by the number of days spent at the destination.
Summers said it is by “no accident” that Branson has been attracting large numbers of families.
He made mention of a TV and print advertising campaign that highlights the diversity of attractions in the area, and features the tagline of “Someone you love is always playing in Branson.”
Raising the number on next year’s list will be a goal of the chamber in 2008.
“We wish it was higher,” Summers said. “We’ll continue working to make that happen.”
In 2006, Branson attracted a record 7.88 million visitors, an increase of more than 500,000 over 2005’s total of 7.33 million. The area is on track this year to break that record. Visitor numbers through May of this year show Branson has played host to 3.2 million visitors, a 4.7 percent increase over the same time in 2006.
Orlando, Fla., took the Family Summer Destinations list’s top spot,. Other ranked cities are Myrtle Beach, S.C., Ocean City, Md., San Diego, Nags Head, N.C., San Antonio, Anaheim, Calif., Williamsburg, Va., and Los Angeles.