lastminute.com.au report reveals what women really think about travel

One in three women admit to becoming more of a ‘stress-head’ in the lead up to a holiday and 34% want to join the ‘mile-high club’, according to new research from Australia’s leading travel and lifestyle website.

The findings of an online survey of more than 6500 Australian women are revealed in the lastminute.com.au 2011 Female Travel and Lifestyle Report.

Covering everything from using Facebook when holidaying overseas, to how they fund their travel plans and which celebs they would most like to rendezvous with on a getaway, the report provides an insight into what makes the modern female traveller tick. 

Announcing the survey results, lastminute.com.au spokesperson Kirsty Harrison said: 

“With this year’s Female Travel and Lifestyle Report our aim was to gather a stack of information on the role travel plays within the lives of Aussie women. Given that us chicks typically make the majority of spending and travel decisions, we believe what women think counts for a lot and we were quite surprised with a number of the findings.”  

Some key snippets:

Have passport, will travel
If money was no obstacle, nine in ten women would choose to holiday overseas.

Relaxation is the number one reason most women travel, favoured by 87% of respondents. Surprisingly, only 4% admit that they travel to enhance their career, 3% do it for the brag factor and 2% are in it to find love. 

The look of love
However, that’s not to say the lure of love doesn’t impact travel plans. For 21% of single women (and interestingly, 43% of men!) the reputation of a destination for attracting other singles influences their holiday decisions.

For those hoping to boost their sex appeal, it’s worth considering travel as a means to an end, with  70% of single ladies  finding a prospective partner more attractive if they‘re well travelled.

Go $AUD, go
While it might be fair to assume the strong Australian dollar in 2011 would have heavily impacted travel plans, 44% of women claim it hasn’t influenced them at all.

However, 37% of women admit they’re going overseas because it’s better value for money, 22% are choosing destinations they haven’t previously considered and 9% are exchanging US dollars now for future travel.

Seeing stars
Also playing a part in influencing travel plans is ‘star factor’. One in four Gen Y women admit that if a destination is frequented by celebrities, they are more likely to travel there.

“It might be wishful thinking, but given the chance, women would most like to holiday with Hugh Jackman, George Clooney and Bradley Cooper. That’s a pretty impressive wish list,” said Ms. Harrison.  

Safe and Secure
Mother Nature sure has shown us who is boss in 2011 and she’s made a mark on travel plans.

40% of women are now ensuring travel insurance is factored into their trips and 14% won’t book a hotel or holiday that doesn’t include a cancellation policy (just in case).

Communication 3.0
While relaxation is high on the holiday agenda, that doesn’t stop 54% of women from checking or updating their Facebook or Twitter profiles when on holidays, compared to 38% of men.

“It pays to think twice before accessing social media from your mobile phone. 31% of women surveyed have suffered from ‘bill shock’ on their return home. That’s not the return to reality most of us are looking for,” said Ms. Harrison.