New research reveals that South Carolina is the state most ‘obsessed’ with traveling. The research, conducted by vacation experts Family Destinations Guide, analysed Google Trends data of the last 12 months for search terms frequently used by travel enthusiasts and often associated with traveling, such as ‘cheap flights’ and ‘vacation packages’. These search terms were then combined to give each state a total ‘travel score’ to discover America’s most and least travel-obsessed states. The study revealed that South Carolina is officially home to the biggest travel enthusiasts in America. With a total travel score of 582 out of a possible 800, South Carolina ranks highly across every keyword analysed in the study. For instance, South Carolina is the state most interested in travel agencies, having the highest number of searches for the term ‘travel agent’ in the country, and is the state searching for the phrase ‘beach vacation’ the second-most in the country. Florida ranks as the second state most obsessed with traveling in the country. With a total travel score of 561, Florida is mainly interested in budget-friendly holidays. For example, the Sunshine State has the second-highest level of searches for the term ‘cheap flights’ and the third-highest level of searches for ‘cheap hotels’ in the country. Delaware ranks as the third most travel-obsessed state in the country. The study revealed that Delaware has the highest level of searches for both the key terms ‘cheap hotels’ and ‘travel insurance’ in the country, giving Delaware a total travel score of 557. The study placed Mississippi next in the ranking, placing fourth overall with a total travel score of 554, followed by Nevada, which ranked fifth with a score of 538. The top 10 most travel-obsessed states are rounded out by Georgia ranking in sixth place, Wyoming in seventh, followed by Louisiana, New York and Hawaii in eighth, ninth and tenth, respectively. In contrast, Washington ranks as the state least interested in traveling in America, with the lowest total travel score of 392. Washington has the lowest search levels for the phrase ‘cheap hotels’ in the country and the fourth-lowest number of searches for both the key terms ‘vacation packages’ and ‘family vacation.’ Utah features next in the ranking as the second state least obsessed with traveling. Utah has low search volumes for travel-related search terms across the board and has the second-lowest number of searches for ‘vacation packages’ in the country, with a total score of 416. The study found that California is the third least travel-obsessed state in the country. The Golden State has the fourth-lowest search levels for both the search terms ‘beach vacation’ and ‘travel agent’, giving a California total travel score of 418 out of a possible 800. The study placed New Mexico next in the ranking, placing fourth overall with a total travel score of 418, followed by Oregon, which ranked fifth with a score of 423. The top 10 least travel-obsessed states are rounded out by Michigan ranking in sixth place, Minnesota in seventh, followed by Wisconsin, Illinois and Massachusetts in eighth, ninth and 10th, respectively. A spokesperson for Family Destinations Guide commented on the study: “According to data from the Vacationer, 81 percent of Americans travelled in summer 2022, either internationally or domestically. This equates to approximately 35 million more American travellers than in 2021, likely due to the easing of Covid-19 travel restrictions worldwide. This study can provide an interesting indication into which areas of the country are home to the biggest travel enthusiasts, with South Carolina residents taking the crown and jet-setting away to new places and Washington residents perfectly happy with sticking closer to home.”