Doctors today are busier and more stressed than ever. When they can find time to get away for a relaxing vacation, where do these affluent, high-level professionals with discerning tastes for quality and value go?
To find out, DIVERSION magazine, which covers the medical profession's leisure-time pursuits, asked selected subscribers to participate in its very first comprehensive travel poll.
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The result is DIVERSION's 2007 Readers' Choice Awards, featured in the magazine's November issue. Editors were impressed by the broad scope of the trips and diversity of interests represented by the nearly 500 physician respondents to the open-ended survey.
Topping the list as favorite U.S. city is New York. Thanks to world-class museums, restaurants, theaters, shopping, celebrities and pure energy and excitement, the Big Apple reigned supreme with the medical set. San Francisco was a close second.
For favorite resort, Orlando/Disney World led the pack without any close competition. Even so, Florida was edged out by California as the most popular state to visit, with Colorado coming in third.
Europe's Big Three -- Paris (first), London (second) and Rome (third) -- were the undisputed winners in the foreign city category. Although the City of Light took top honors, the country with the greatest number of popular cities was Italy, with voters naming Rome, Venice, Florence, Positano and Taormina.
In addition to travel destinations, the magazine surveyed its readership about their favorite restaurants, hotel chains and dream vacations. Some highlights:
* TYPE OF VACATIONPhysicians have a lot of energy, according to the survey.The list of most desirable vacations is topped by trips to foreign cities or countries in active pursuit of culture-and good food. Beaches came in a strong second, in many cases as good places for family vacations.The top Readers' Choice beach was Destin, Florida, located along the 24-mile Emerald Coast panhandle.
* LUXURY HOTELSWell-known luxury chains Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton dominated this list, with 41 different properties getting one or more votes.But the top choice went to the Phoenician in Scottsdale, Arizona.The sprawling hotel resonated with readers by delivering top quality in everything from spa treatments to dining to golf.
* RESTAURANTS The city of New Orleans scored the winning culinary spot with Commander's Palace, famous for its legendary jazz brunch and iconic bread pudding souffl .Philadelphia, the site of many medical schools and institutions, is the home of hip Pan-Asian restaurant, Buddakan, which came in second, and Le Bec-Fin, which tied with New York City's Four Seasons and Le Bernardin for third.
* DREAM VACATIONSIf time and money were no object, doctors would head Down Under for vacations in Australia and New Zealand.The combination nailed first place by a landslide. Other dream destinations were Italy, China, Paris, Hawaii and Antarctica.
"DIVERSION'S readers travel a lot, both to medical conferences and for their own personal pleasure," says editor in chief Cathy Cavender. "Their choices are a great guide to planning your own dream getaway."