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Pump
Up the Fun Summer Survey Finds Cape Cod Beaches
Are
the Hot Spots for Travel
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Portsmouth,
NH – August 2015 / Newsmaker Alert / New Englanders are setting
their GPS's for the coast and making the beaches of Cape Cod their number-one
travel destination now through Labor Day, according to Irving Oil's Pump
Up the Fun Summer Survey. Survey respondents also selected WaterFire
Providence, a river-based experience of music and flame, and the Winter
Harbor Lobster Festival in the fishing village of Winter Harbor, Maine,
as the two top 'must-see' experiences for August. The Pump
Up the Fun Summer Survey was conducted through hundreds of online
interviews between August 4 through 6.
As part of Irving Oil's Pump
Up the Fun $5 Million Summer Giveaway, the company interviewed New
Englanders to identify the travel hot spots for the month of August. Pump
Up the Fun runs until September 7 at all participating Irving Oil retail
locations throughout New England and marks the largest retail promotion
in the company's history. Contest information can be found at www.IrvingFun.com.
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“Wherever they're headed,
travelers will need to refuel along the way and we want that experience
to be as exciting and rewarding as the destination itself,” says Sarah
Irving, Executive Vice President and Chief Brand Officer for Irving Oil.
“It's why we created Pump Up the Fun, a retail promotional campaign
offering customers chances to win instant prizes, fuel discounts, and for
some lucky New Englanders, Ford Escapes™, Can-Am Spyders™ or SEA-DOOs™.”
About Irving Oil
Irving Oil is a privately
owned regional energy and marketing company that provides Eastern Canada
and New England with high-quality products and customer service. Founded
in 1924 and based in Saint John, NB, Irving Oil maintains a strong tradition
of committed community service and partnerships through programs in healthcare,
the environment, education and youth sports. For more information about
Irving Oil and its community programs, please visit us at www.IrvingOil.com
or follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/irvingoil.
Pump Up the Fun Summer
Survey Results
The survey asked New England
adults to choose among 10 destinations across New England they are likely
to visit in August or over Labor Day weekend. Asked to imagine they could
visit only one destination, 34 percent of respondents chose Cape Cod beaches.
Mystic, CT was second with 26 percent, while Newport RI rounded the top
3 destinations with 23 percent of the vote. Here's how they ranked from
top to bottom, based on a tally of respondents saying they would definitely
or likely visit.
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Cape Cod Beaches, MA
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Mystic, CT
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Newport, RI
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Lake Winnipesaukee, NH
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White Mountains, NH
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Block Island, RI
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Nantucket, MA
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Acadia National Park, ME
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Lake Champlain, Burlington,
VT
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Smuggler's Notch, Stowe, VT
When it comes to events and
attractions, the month of August is packed with activities that New Englanders
can experience either as a day trip or part of an extended vacation. Asked
to choose just one event to attend, WaterFire Providence tied the
Winter
Harbor Lobster Festival at 14 percent, edging out the Great Falls
Balloon Festival (13 percent), and St. Anthony's Feast (12 percent).
In just a few hundred square miles, travelers in the six New England states
can go from the visual artistry and sounds of Providence's unique WaterFire
experience to the smells and tastes of Boston's historic North End and
to the stunning beauty and photographic experience of the Great Falls
Balloon Festival in Lewiston/Auburn, Maine. Rounding out the rest of
the Top 10 New England events to attend as ranked by survey respondents
were:
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WaterFire Providence,
Providence, RI, Aug. 29 (tied for first)
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Winter Harbor Lobster Festival
and Lobster Boat Races, Winter Harbor, ME, Aug. 8- 9 (tied for first)
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Great Falls Balloon Festival,
Lewiston/Auburn, ME, Aug. 21-23
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St. Anthony's Feast,
North End, Boston, MA Aug. 28- 31
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Friday night fireworks
at Weirs Beach Lake Winnipesaukee, NH, Aug. 7, Aug. 14, Aug. 21
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Rhode Island International
Film Festival, Providence, Bristol, Jamestown, Newport, Westerly, East
Greenwich, Woonsocket, RRI, Aug. 4-9
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Machias Wild Blueberry Festival
2015, Machias, ME, Aug. 14-15
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New Haven Open at Yale University,
New Haven, CT, Aug. 21-29
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Annual White Mountain Boogie
N' Blues Festival, N.H., Aug. 14-16, Pemigewasset River Valley
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Jet Cars Under the Stars,
New England Dragway, Epping, NH Aug. 8
Survey Fun Facts and Write-ins
Asked to choose 'the most
fun thing to do' as part of summer vacation, respondents chose going to
the beach (25 percent), followed by camping (15 percent), water parks (11
percent), staying home (10.5 percent), hiking (9.5 percent), kayaking (7.5
percent), fishing (6.25 percent), gondola rides/alpine slides (6.25 percent),
sailing (5.5 percent) and biking (3.5 percent).
The summer travel survey
included an open-ended question: What is your favorite place to take a
scenic drive in New England?
A sampling of comments:
“Bristol, Maine, would be
my favorite for a scenic drive. It's nice and wooded, kind of secluded,
but has the rich scent of the ocean. [The scent] makes the biggest impact
after a storm.”
“I enjoy a scenic drive up
the coast between Boston and Rockport. Because I do not drive a car I go
on 'the drive' taking the MBTA Commuter rail. I love seeing the water from
the train window.”
“I like driving in Vermont
up by the Canadian border. I almost always see moose there.”
“I like driving through cranberry
country. So Middleborough, Lakeville, Carver, or Plymouth.”
“Newport because it has a
whole bunch of stores and mansions there. It's really calm and peaceful
and has very clean beaches.”
Media Contact:
Sam
Robinson
Irving Oil
506-650-4947 |