WalletHub recently posted an article with the best and worst states for summer road trips. Stefanie Benjamin, assistant professor in the Department of Retail, Hospitality and Tourism Management, was featured as an expert on the topic.
Among Benjamin’s tips are to use applications such as Airbnb to maintain low costs and live like a local, travel by car when possible for the ability to travel various places and gain an authentic experience, and evaluating what factors are important to you in deciding on a travel spot.
“Depends on the person traveling–race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, socio-economic status, everything plays a role in evaluating the best states for summer road trips,” said Benjamin, when asked what the top five factors were in evaluating the best states for summer road trips. “For myself, I’m looking for these top five factors: local craft breweries, summer festivals/events unique to that state, low cost of activities (including farmer’s markets), easy and low cost of accessibility to unique nature settings, and food that is unique to that state.”
Benjamin also encourages officials in the tourism industry to use social media for promotion.
“Photos and Instagram stories of things to do and places to see are a wonderful way of promoting a place,” said Benjamin.