Destination Dating: Match.com Taps Into Travel Stats

Dating can be a pretty complicated practice, especially in this day and age as people juggle busy career schedules and packed social calendars. Websites like Match.com have exploded in popularity over the past few years, because their tools allow people to find people based on proximity, interest, age, and any other factors that may create a good, well… match; especially for people who can’t find the time to go out on their own.

Recently, Match.com did some research on their users and their relationship with travel. More than 80% of Match.com users list travel as one of their interests, with 60% of the surveyed singles saying they would vacation with someone after a mere three months of dating.

Users were asked in the poll, if given two weeks off for vacation, where they would go. The winner, with an overwhelming 43% of the votes— Miami, Florida’s South Beach. Following Miami were other beach locations like Key West, with 17% of the vote and South Padre Island, Texas with 10.1% of the vote. Manhattan Beach, CA and the Hamptons on Long Island, NY were other popular choices, and they all have one thing in common – beaches. This isn’t too surprising, either, because 71.6% of singles say the most important thing to consider when going on vacation is if the destination has a beautiful beach. Not surprisingly, 40.5% of these people say that Honolulu is the most romantic American city (obviously, none of these people have ever been to Romance, Arkansas).

The folks at Match.com are taking a cue from those stats and have decided to partner with Southwest Airlines to form the Destination Summer travel sweepstakes. The prize is two round-trip airline tickets, two six-month Match.com memberships, one Flip video camera, $2,000 for food and lodging, and two dating books. Enter, and you might just meet the man or woman of your dreams. Just think about leaving those dating books at home if you don’t want to seem like a newbie to the scene.

[Image: onlinedatingguide]