New research from Kayak has revealed that 56 per cent of Aussie hotel searches are domestic destinations.
The travel search engine studied the search habits of Australian travellers to uncover the top trending and popular destinations, as well as the most popular day of the week to search for hotels.
The Hotel Travel Report revealed that Aussies are increasingly forgoing their overseas holidays to spend their cash on lavish hotels and spas closer to home.
Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane top the list for the most popular destinations to visit for a short stay. However, Aussies are willing to travel as far as Singapore, Bangkok and Seoul for just a short trip away, with all three destinations falling within the top 10.
Melbourne tops the list for visits lasting over two weeks, beating Bali, New York, Honolulu and Sydney. The lively city of Melbourne, renowned for being home to world-class restaurants and some of Australia’s best shopping, has plenty to keep travellers entertained for over a fortnight.
When it comes to preferences, the most popular star category is four-star, with 46 per cent of Aussies searching for four-star hotels compared to 22 per cent searching for five-star luxury, and 1 per cent actively searching for one-star hotels.
In terms of desired amenities or types of hotels, the most important ones to Aussies are boutiques, hotels with spas, hotels with great design, luxurious, budget-friendly, hotels with an airport close by and business-friendly hotels.
The research also revealed that Newcastle is blowing up right now, with a 158 per cent increase year-on-year followed by Surfers Paradies (149 per cent increase), Brisbane (122 per cent increase), Canberra (111 per cent increase) and Perth (79 per cent increase).
And guess what else? MONDAY BLUES ARE REAL! When Monday rolls around, it seems Aussies are more interested in dreaming up their next holiday, rather than working.
KAYAK’s data uncovered Monday as the most popular day of the week to search for hotels in top destinations, with hopeful holidaymakers browsing for an average of 4.5 minutes.
These are Australia’s top ten trending destinations according to Kayak’s Hotel Travel Report:
