tourism news

Dallas flies into top 10 on new list of best summer travel destinations

Here come the tourists.

Not even triple-digit heat will deter tourists from visiting Dallas this summer, a new survey from WalletHub has confirmed. The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro has climbed into the No. 10 spot on the personal finance website's list of the "Best Summer Travel Destinations" in 2025.

The report annually ranks 100 U.S metros based on attractions, safety, activities, weather, local costs, and travel costs and hassles. Factors that determine each city's ranking include flight costs, the number of affordable restaurants with high ratings, crime rates, and more.

The Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford metro area in Florida is the No. 1 most sought after summer travel destination this year.

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington has made a huge leap from its former No. 29 rank last year, and it ranked No. 45 in 2023.

Here's how WalletHub broke down Dallas' ranking in each of the six main categories:

No. 13 – Local costs rank
No. 21 – Attractions rank
No. 29 – Activities rank
No. 41 – Weather rank
No. 43 – Safety rank
No. 50 – Travel costs and hassles rank

Dallas ranked the highest in the local costs category, proving that the city's affordability is a major benefit for visitors as well as locals. There's surely no shortage of things to do in the city, from dining at highly acclaimed steakhouses or checking out fun plays and musicals.

But there's so much more that goes into choosing the right place for a memorable summer trip, says WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. Creating and sticking to a vacation budget that considers all costs of a trip, such as meals and local transportation costs, is a good place to start.

"[C]hoosing a destination that’s not only entertaining but also affordable is important when travel, dining and activity costs have surged so much in recent years," Lupo says. "It can also allow you to have a longer, more relaxing trip."

The study's scope isn't just limited to just Dallas proper, which also means tourists may flock to popular suburbs like Plano to explore its shopping opportunities, or visit a quirky new toy store in Lewisville. It also includes Arlington, home of the new National Medal of Honor Museum.

Other top Texas summer travel destinations
Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown (No. 5) was the only other Texas metro to earn a spot in the top 10 summer travel destinations, while San Antonio-New Braunfels ranked 18th.

Surprisingly, El Paso (No. 31) ranked four spots ahead of Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land (No. 35). The final two Texas metros that earned spots in the study are Corpus Christi (No. 80) and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission (No. 97).

The top 10 best summer travel destinations in 2025 are:

No. 1 – Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida
No. 2 – Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, Georgia
No. 3 – Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-Virginia-Maryland-West Virginia
No. 4 – Urban Honolulu, Hawaii
No. 5 – Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, Texas
No. 6 – Cincinnati, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana
No. 7 – Salt Lake City, Utah
No. 8 – Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Delaware-Maryland
No. 9 – Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Florida
No. 10 – Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas

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holiday travel news

DFW Airport ranks as the most stressful airport for holiday travel

Travelers waiting for their flights at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport

DFW Airport/Facebook

Flight delays and cancellations at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport can be a stress-inducing experience for some travelers this holiday season.

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) made a list it would probably rather not make, tracking which airports in the U.S. are the least and most stressful.

European tour company Travel by Luxe compared 30 major airports across several stress-inducing flight factors, such as security wait times, flight delays, cancellation rates, passenger traffic, and average airfare prices. The airports were ranked according to which were the "best equipped to keep travelers calm rather than frazzled."

Out of all 30 airports, DFW Airport landed at the bottom:, making it the most stressful American airport of those surveyed, with more flight delays and cancellations than other major U.S. airports.

Delays and cancellations. According to passenger traffic data from December 2024, nearly 3.6 million travelers flew through DFW for the holidays last year. More than a quarter of all flights were delayed — about 26.06 percent. In addition, DFW had the second-highest rate of cancelled flights (2.08 percent) out of all 30 airports analyzed during the same period.

Cost. Average flight costs at DFW came out to $417.38 in the final quarter of 2024, which the report determined was the 12th most expensive airfare out of the 30 U.S. airports. Although the report clarified that fares are not as stress-inducing as flight delays and security wait times.

TSA process. Travelers should always plan extra time to get through Transportation Security Administration (TSA) lines during peak travel times, but the report found that getting through DFW security lines in December 2023 (where the latest data was available) took only about 9 minutes. That's the sixth-shortest wait time nationwide.

The 2025 holiday travel season is expected to be one of the busiest on record; nearly 8 million travelers are expected to fly through DFW during the final two months of the year, making it the second-busiest airport in the U.S. over the holidays.

"Holiday travel is supposed to be joyful. [T]hink of all the twinkling lights, family reunions and much-needed downtime," the author wrote. "But anyone who has battled chaotic airport lines, last-minute cancellations or a departure board full of red delay warnings knows how quickly that festive spirit can evaporate."

The No. 1 most stress-free U.S. airport to travel over the holidays is Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona, the report said.

The top 10 U.S. airports with the smoothest travel during the 2025 holiday season are:

No. 1 – Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
No. 2 – Salt Lake City International Airport
No. 3 – Washington Dulles International Airport
No. 4 – Tampa International Airport
No. 5 – Harry Reid International Airport
No. 6 – Chicago Midway International Airport
No. 7 – Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport
No. 8 – Philadelphia International Airport
No. 9 – Austin-Bergstrom International Airport
No. 10 – LaGuardia Airport

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