Regional destinations across Australia have surged in popularity, with October data from Choice Hotels Asia-Pac revealing that Moree is one of the most in-demand by travellers.
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According to Choose Hotels' booking activity data from October the most sought-after regional destinations in NSW are Moree, Mudgee, Dubbo and Newcastle.
This comes as Tourism Moree launches its latest campaign, encouraging domestic travellers to experience the Moree Plains Shire, capitalising on the growing trend of people keen to explore their own backyard while international and state borders are closed.
Across Australia, the most popular destinations were Warwick, Rockhampton, Hervey Bay, Mooloolaba and Mackay in Queensland; Horsham, Benalla, Seymour and Wangaratta in Victoria; Launceston in Tasmania, Port Augusta, Victor Harbour and Barmera in South Australia and Perth, Busselton, Esperance, Karratha, Albany, Bunbury and Sorrento Beach in Western Australia.
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Choice Hotels occupancy rates have soared well above the market average of 42 per cent in regional areas in October, and as state border restrictions ease into the future, Choice Hotels expects to continue seeing positive results in regional destinations across Australia.
The increase in demand for the regions is supported by broader consumer travel insights with Tripadvisor also highlighting this promising trend towards recovery for the tourism sector.
"Tripadvisor insights are telling us that domestic travel is taking the lead in recovery in Australia," Tripadvisor APAC head of sales Scott Wegener said.
CEO of Choice Hotels Asia-Pac Trent Fraser said the outlook for the industry leading into summer is promising.
"It's fantastic to see demand picking up and we're also seeing an encouraging amount of search interest and forward bookings for the months ahead," he said.
"We're feeling hopeful the strong appetite from Australians to discover their own backyard will help to breathe life back into our regional tourism sector and as we move into the warmer months and we predict the outlook for 2021 will remain strong once the country opens up again.
"Short breaks and local getaways are a way for people to escape and recharge after a challenging year and getting out and experiencing local communities is also a fantastic way to give back in what has been a very tough year for a lot of businesses and tourism operators in regional areas.
"It's a great time to re-think the nostalgic road-trip, look for somewhere local to explore and book a weekend away - there's something for every type of traveller and holiday maker across regional Australia."
