Raleigh area Ranks No. 8 on Hotwire.com's Travel Value Index
Survey Helps Travelers Discover Best Values in America

Raleigh, NC - Consistently recognized as a best place to live, work and play, now the Raleigh area can add affordability to its ever growing list of accolades. Today, Hotwire.com, a leading travel discount site, ranked the Raleigh area eighth on its list of Top 10 Best Value Cities for 2010 Travel. The Annual Travel Value Index rates the Top 10 Destinations where travelers planning their next trip can find the best value and entertainment options.

The Raleigh area is in good company. According to the survey the Top 10 Places for Value Travel include: Atlanta (1), Orlando (2), Phoenix (3), Dallas-Fort Worth (4), Denver (5), Houston (6), Los Angeles (7), Raleigh (8), Chicago (9) and Miami (10). Hotwire cites the Raleigh area a score of 82 with a high score for Low Prices.

Hotwire.com calculates results by evaluating the USA's top 75 markets using a formula that takes into consideration low prices on hotel, airfare and car rental (50% of score); discounts on hotels, airfare and car rental; (25%), and affordable entertainment, overall appeal and choice of accommodations (25%).

The Raleigh area has experienced a renaissance in the past few years with many major projects changing the landscape of North Carolina's Capital City. The new Silver LEED Certified Raleigh Convention Center opened in 2008 which spurred retail, dining and entertainment options in the downtown Raleigh corridor. Many major attractions including the new NC Museum of Art, opening April 24, and a state-of-the-art Nature Research Center, opening Fall 2011, add to the more 30 free attractions already
available to visitors. Affordable airfare with most of the major carriers represented at RDU and many price points among 132 current hotel properties tallying some 15,000 rooms are additional reasons Greater Raleigh indeed offers traveling Americans the best value for their money.

"The Raleigh area is a natural to make the list," said Dennis Edwards, president and CEO of the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau. "We offer leisure and business travelers and affordable experience with world-class hotels, free attractions and a calendar consistently filled with free festivals and events."