Abstract: An interactive vacation destination selection system operates through a back and front ends. The back end identifies criteria which may be important to a consumer, and categorizes and assigns images to the criteria. The front end to the system assesses what a consumer wants in a vacation destination, identifies vacation destinations having the attributes that satisfy those wants, and then displays comparative data on those vacation destinations. By providing to the system basic information on the consumer and his or her travel companions, general information on how far the consumer is willing to travel, preferred weather conditions, a budget range, and the consumer's selection of criteria from one or more categories, the system is capable of determining a suitable vacation destination and accommodation for the consumer and the travel companions, even without being provided information on to where the consumer wants to travel.