Aussies Stay Home For Their Summer Holidays

SYDNEY, FEBRUARY 2006 – Australians have spent their summer holidays largely in Australia for 2005/2006 according to leading online accommodation provider, HotelClub (www.HotelClub.net/hotel.reservations). With an increased capacity to travel (due to Christmas, New Year and school holidays*) most Australians favoured domestic travel over the December – January period.

Bookings for the summer holiday period have increased by 86%** from 2004/2005 to 2005/2006. 75% of the bookings made by Australians in 2005/2006 were for destinations within Australia. The top destinations where Australians travelled to over summer included 8 Australian cities and only 2 overseas cities, compared with 2004/2005.

Australians are also opting for shorter and more frequent stays and spending more money on leisure activities* with the average booking duration of 2.5 nights (based on HotelClub bookings) with an average spend of $403 per booking.

Additionally, 25% of bookings by Australians for international destinations included: New Zealand, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, USA, Italy and the UK. Kuala Lumpur and other Asian cities are emerging as strong choices for Australian travellers.

“Australians are taking holidays with an ever increasing number of choices at their disposal - including a wide range of domestic and international options to choose from. Australia has everything from beaches to snowy mountains for skiing holidays. In addition, Asia and the Pacific Islands are within easy reach and are becoming a more affordable option with low-cost air carriers at their disposal,” said Chloe Lim, Director of Sales and Marketing, HotelClub.

HotelClub offers over to 20,000 hotel accommodation choices in 2,200 cities and 97 countries worldwide, including 1,100 hotels and apartments in Australia and over 2,500 hotels throughout the Asia Pacific Region.

* Source: Euromonitors 2005 Travel and Tourism in Australia
** Source: HotelClub

About HotelClub.com
HotelClub (www.HotelClub.net) is a global accommodation specialist website offering hotel bookings for up to 12 months in advance. It offers users the choice of over 20,000 hotels – at savings of up to 60% – in 97 countries and 2,200 cities worldwide. HotelClub is available in nine languages – Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish.