Lilia GuanAn online travel company has shown that Australian travelers are taking shorter breaks when it comes to holidays.
In www.zuji.com.au latest Online Travel Trend Report for Q2 2005 (April-June), figures show that 64 per cent of ZUJI’s flight bookings represent trips of a week or less in duration, demonstrating the trend towards short breaks continue across Asia Pacific. Hotel bookings also support the short break trend, with 64 per cent of hotel bookings made for stays of a week or less in duration. According to ZUJI Australia’s General Manager, Jo O’Brien, this trend marks the beginning of a new age of ‘intense’ travel, where short city breaks reign supreme.
“With time being so precious, Aussies are also taking more care in planning their travel and this is evident in the growing lead-time for accommodation bookings. 44 per cent of hotel bookings are now made more than three weeks ahead of check-in, an increase from 35 per cent this time last year,” said O’Brian.
The shift from last minute travel is also reflected in flight bookings with 32 per cent of Australians choosing to book their flights more than two months ahead of travel, a distinct increase since Q2 2004 when the same percentage of travelers preferred to organise their flights two weeks prior to departure.
Furthermore, time poor Aussies are embracing the convenience of online booking and new technology more than ever before. ZUJI has also found that Australians prefer not to take risks when it comes to their travel. Since travel insurance was integrated into the flight booking platform on zuji.com.au in July 2005, the take up rate has been over 30 per cent.