Priceline.com (NASDAQ: PCLN) today released its 6th annual list of top 50 destinations for ringing in the New Year. For the 5th year in a row, Las Vegas is the #1 destination for New Year’s revelers.

Priceline.com also reported today that the average published rate for a 3-star or higher hotel in the U.S. for New Year’s 2009 is $129, which is slightly less than last year’s average published rate of $132. “With room rates in many cities still under pressure, a New Year’s getaway is an exceptional value,” said priceline.com’s in-house travel expert Brian Ek.

For those in search of even deeper savings, there’s priceline.com’s Name Your Own Price hotel service that can save up to 50% over published hotel prices. With Priceline’s Name Your Own Price hotel service, customers pick the dates, part of town, hotel star level and price they want to pay for their room. If that price is accepted by a priceline.com partner hotel, the booking is completed and customers receive their hotel details.

Priceline.com’s Top 50 Destinations list is the definitive guide for those who want to find the crowds - or stay away from them on the New Year. To compile the list, priceline.com looked at a sampling of more than 30,000 Name Your Own Price hotel room booking requests made by priceline.com customers for the New Year’s holiday. Because the survey is based on actual booking requests, and not on consumer preference polls or votes, priceline.com believes its annual survey is one of the more accurate predictors of New Year’s travel trends. Also, by focusing on hotels instead of airline tickets, the priceline.com survey is able to include the travel intentions of consumers who will drive to their destination.

“This year, a handful of cities and destinations were the big winners in the sweepstakes for New Year’s revelers,” said Ek. “The Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area captured 7 spots on the list, while New York City and Los Angeles/Orange County each took 6 spots, and Las Vegas was named 4 times. The growing strength of New Orleans as a tourist destination was also evident by being named to the #5 and #8 spots on the list.”

  Priceline.com’s Top 50 New Year’s Destinations

  1. Las Vegas, Strip Vicinity South
  2. New York City, Chelsea Area
  3. New York City, Times Square/Theater District
  4. Miami, South Beach/Ocean Drive
  5. New Orleans, Downtown
  6. New York City, Empire State Building Area
  7. Atlanta, Downtown
  8. New Orleans, French Quarter
  9. Orlando, Sea World/International Drive/Convention Center
  10. Fort Lauderdale, Beach Area
  11. Las Vegas, Strip Vicinity North
  12. Orlando, Disney Maingate
  13. Key West
  14. Orlando, Lake Buena Vista/Downtown Disney
  15. Maui, Wailea/Makena
  16. Oahu, Waikiki Beach
  17. San Francisco, Union Square West/Nob Hill
  18. New York City, Madison Square Garden/Convention Area
  19. Fort Lauderdale, Downtown
  20. Puerto Rico, San Juan
  21. Chicago, Millennium Park/Loop/Grant Park Area
  22. Las Vegas, Near Las Vegas Strip East
  23. Chicago, North Michigan Ave./River North Area
  24. Oahu, Waikiki Marina Area
  25. San Antonio, Riverwalk Area
  26. Fort Lauderdale, Ft. Lauderdale/Airport North
  27. Miami, South Beach/Collins Ave. Oceanfront
  28. Toronto, Downtown Toronto South
  29. Newark, Meadowlands/Jersey City
  30. Sydney, City Centre
  31. Boston, Harbor Front/Aquarium
  32. New York City, Midtown East
  33. Los Angeles, Central L.A./Hollywood
  34. Atlanta, Midtown
  35. Miami, Miami Beach
  36. Los Angeles, Central L.A./Beverly Hills/West Hollywood
  37. San Diego, Downtown & Harbor Island
  38. Paris, Eiffel Tower/Port de Versailles/Montparnasse
  39. Seattle, Downtown/Pike Place
  40. Rome, Central City
  41. Los Angeles, San Gabriel Valley/Pasadena
  42. Boston, Copley Square/Theater District
  43. New York City, Downtown/SoHo/Financial District
  44. Las Vegas, Convention Center
  45. Miami, Coral Gables/Coconut Grove
  46. Los Angeles, Central L.A./Airport
  47. Amsterdam, City Centre & Museum Quarter
  48. Miami, Downtown
  49. Orange County, Disneyland/Orange/Garden Grove
  50. Orange County, Disneyland/Anaheim