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Visiting the fam drives up domestic tourism

Visiting family and friends is a key reason for Aussies to travel around their backyard, according to new figures.

Visiting family and friends is a key reason for Aussies to travel around their backyard, according to new figures.

 

Tourism Research Australia’s National Visitor Survey published today, revealed for the year ending September 2014 Australians spent $53.7 million travelling around the country. That’s four percent more on the same period last year.

Domestic overnight trips also experienced major growth of five percent to 79.7 million and visitor nights were up seven percent to 302.4 million.

Tourism Australia said the increase in overnight spend was driven by more travellers booking trips to visit family and friends. This grew by nine percent to 28.8 million.

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Meanwhile, fewer Australians are booking non-family related holidays around Australia, with domestic overnight holiday travel falling by one percent over the nine months to 32.7 million. Holiday nights fell three percent to 130.7 million and holiday spend dropped two percent to $26.4 billion.

While Australians may not be holidaying around Aus in record numbers, they are still keen on heading overseas, with international holidays increasing six percent to 5.5 million.

“Whilst this [domestic growth] is largely due to Australians travelling to visit friends and relatives, there are positive signs for an increase in domestic holiday visitation in the future.”

Tim Quinn, Tourism Research Australia

Mr Quinn added that domestic holidays will likely return as the Australian dollar falls.

for story sunshine coast

Meanwhile, a destination that is experiencing strong growth in domestic holidays is Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

The Sunshine Coast saw domestic visitors grow by 10.9 percent to reach a new record of 2.9 million overnight visitors.

A key interstate market for the Sunshine Coast, Victoria, increased by 14.1 percent to 170,000 visitors. And Brisbane residents flocked to the region with an increase of 27.9 percent and 1.5 million overnight visitors.

International visitor statistics released last week showed the Sunshine Coast is up 10.8 percent, with a total of 3.2 million overnight visitors to the region in the year ending September 2014.

“Looking forward, the summer holiday period is shaping up to be busy with early bookings flowing in to all areas of the coast from Caloundra to the Hinterland, Mooloolaba through to Noosa and up to Rainbow Beach.”

Simon Ambrose, Sunshine Coast Destination chief executive

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