Report says Utahns like to visit California

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There is a reason many Utahns see plenty of cars with license plates from Wyoming, Idaho, New Mexico, Arizona and Oregon.

According to a recent report by Desti, a travel-planning app for tablets and smart phones, the highest numbers of travelers using the app from those states visit Utah.

Utahns, on the other hand, pick California as their favorite.

Data for the survey was analyzed and derived from the trips users have created on Desti, an app travelers use to plan vacations that was founded as a SRI International spin-out in 2011 by travel veteran Nadav Gur.

According to the report, 11 percent of Wyoming residents, 7 percent from Idaho, 5 percent from New Mexico, 3 percent from Arizona and 2 percent from Oregon plan trips to Utah on the site.

Florida is the most popular state with all Desti users, with 42 percent choosing to visit there, followed closely by California chosen by 36 percent.

The survey showed that Californians go east to visit Nevada most frequently while the golden state is also popular with New Jersey, Vermont and Virginia residents. A surprising number of Florida residents also travel to California, most likely in search of less humidity.

Not surprisingly, most states west of the Mississippi head to California for vacation, while Florida is popular with New Yorkers and many other eastern seaboard states.

While the data suggests migration trends from wintery land-locked states to sunny ocean destinations, there are some anomalies. Kansans trek east to Missouri while Montana residents travel to Washington. Mississippi and Alabama travelers go north to Tennessee while New Mexico, Oklahoma and Arkansas residents head to Texas.

wharton@sltrib.com

Twitter: @tribtomwharton