It's true! One in Five Australians steal from hotels when travelling
Announcement posted by LivingSocial Australia & NZ 05 Mar 2012
Media Release
1 March 2012
- Survey finds 1 in 5 Australians steal from hotels
- Australians out-rank 4 other countries as the most budget-focused travellers
- 66 per cent stay connected on email and phones
- Australians on average have travelled to 6 countries.
Always suspected that your fellow Aussie is a scrooge when travelling? A LivingSocial survey finds one in five Australians admit to having stolen something from a hotel. Australians are also more budget-focused than our American, Canadian, Irish and British counterparts, with more of us looking for the cheapest food, hotel, and transportation when we travel.
The LivingSocial holiday survey was conducted online in February 2011 among 400 Australians and 5,200 additional respondents in the United States, Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
The survey revealed, unsurprisingly, that towels are the most popular item stolen from hotels, while perhaps less subtle is walking out with the pillows (which 3 per cent admitted to) or, less obvious, the remote control (which 2 per cent admitted to).
The survey also debunks the myth that Australians are the most widely travelled tourists, with Irish travellers visiting nine countries, and English seven countries, compared with Australians, at just six countries.
Anu Mohan, LivingSocial Australia and New Zealand VP Marketing, says: “Australians are big travellers but we can’t claim to be the most active globetrotters. Despite this, we should be proud of our exploring ways; six countries are impressive, especially given we have to travel overseas to get to another country.”
The survey found that Australians can’t switch off when they travel, with 66 per cent admitting to checking their emails or phones whilst on holidays.
Statistics from the survey:
Sticky Fingers
22% of Australian travellers admitted to having stolen something from a hotel during a visit. The most common items poached were towels (admitted by 12% of respondents), bathrobes (admitted by 5%), batteries (3%), pillows (3%), sheets (3%) and remote controls (2%).
Tough to Cut the Cord
Two-thirds of respondents (66 per cent) said they check their e-mail or mobile phones while on holidays.
Holiday Horror Stories
Percentage of Australians who have experienced the following while travelling:
| Overcharged by a salesperson | 16% |
| Got extremely lost | 14% |
| Hit by a weather disaster | 12% |
| Had an injury, medical emergency or severe illness | 11% |
| Airline lost luggage | 11% |
| Missed flights or connecting transportation | 10% |
| Blacked out or had a hangover from too much booze | 9% |
| Got pickpocketed or robbed | 8% |
| Ran out of cash or couldn’t get access to money | 6% |
| Experienced local strikes or civil unrest | 6% |
| Got bitten by bed bugs | 5% |
| Couldn’t find a bathroom in time | 5% |
| Forgot or lost passport/ID | 3% |
| Victim of scam | 3% |
| Broke up with significant other | 2% |
| Got arrested or had a run-in with the police | 2% |
World’s Worst Tourists
Percentage of Australians who say the country with the worst tourists is:
| United States | 30% |
| China | 19% |
| India | 18% |
| Japan | 16% |
| France | 12% |
| Germany | 10% |
| Australia | 10% |
| Russia | 9% |
| Korea | 9% |
| United Kingdom | 9% |
| The Netherlands | 7% |
| Italy | 6% |
| Ireland | 3% |
| Switzerland | 2% |
| Canada | 2% |
| Spain | 2% |
Favourite Holiday Activities
Australian tourists’ favourite activities are:
| Shopping | 38% |
| Visiting historical sites or ruins | 34% |
| Relaxing on the beach | 33% |
| Eating in great restaurants | 32% |
| Hiking or exploring the outdoors | 18% |
| Camping | 15% |
| Touring museums or galleries | 15% |
| Relaxing in spas | 14% |
| Hitting the rides at amusement or theme parks | 13% |
| Going on cruises | 11% |
| Going on safaris or animal-watching activities | 9% |
| Touring wineries or breweries | 9% |
| Attending music events or festivals | 8% |
| Gambling or playing the casino | 7% |
| Diving or snorkeling | 5% |
| Skiing or snowboarding the slopes | 4% |
| Playing golf | 3% |
| Volunteering during vacation | 2% |
Top 10 Dream Destinations
When given their choice of dozens of world wonders to visit, Australians picked their top 10 dream destinations as:
| 1. | Pyramids of Giza Egypt | 26% |
| 2. | Great Barrier Reef Australia | 23% |
| 3. | The Great Wall of China China | 20% |
| 4. | Eiffel Tower France | 19% |
| 5. | Disney World Florida | 19% |
| 6. | Las Vegas Nevada | 17% |
| 7. | Antarctica | 16% |
| 8. | Grand Canyon Arizona | 14% |
| 9. | Stonehenge UK | 13% |
| 10. | Machu Picchu Peru | 13% |
Australians out-rank 5 other countries as the most budget-focused travellers:
| AUSTRALIA | 51.2% |
| UNITED STATES | 50.7% |
| CANADA | 46.1% |
| IRELAND | 41.2% |
| UNITED KINGDOM | 41.1% |
Australians on average have travelled to 6 countries:
| IRELAND | 9.51 |
| UNITED KINGDOM | 7.77 |
| AUSTRALIA | 6.22 |
| CANADA | 4.89 |
| UNITED STATES | 4.46 |
The LivingSocial holiday survey is part of LivingSocial’s ongoing efforts to discover and share information about local social trends and behavior.
Methodology
The LivingSocial holiday survey was conducted online in February 2011 among 400 Australians and 5,200 additional respondents in the United States, Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The survey was conducted by Mandala Research, LLC. Respondents were not limited to LivingSocial members.
FOR INTERVIEWS/ IMAGES & MORE INFO:
Corinne Roberts |The Ideas Suite| m 0422 228 082 | t (02) 9279 3330 |
e croberts@theideassuite.com.au
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