Travellers 'not afraid to whinge'
By Rosemary Desmond
07-09-2005
From: AAP
http://finance.news.com.au/story/0,10166,16522095-31037,00.html
"AUSTRALIANS are not shy about complaining when they travel overseas, a national survey has found.
A third of the 1230 people surveyed by email said they thought nothing of asking for a flight upgrade to first or business class, Justine Waddington, marketing manager of on-line travel company OctopusTravel.com, said.
More surprising was that one in four were prepared to kick up a fuss when they did not get it.
The survey also found almost one in 10 admitted to having asked to switch hotel rooms for no good reason other than to get a better room.
But contrary to the popular belief Australians were adventurous overseas, the survey found they were generally a little more wary in some situations and had a tendency to stick to what they knew.
"I think it reflects that we are travel-savvy," Ms Waddington said.
"We are good travellers."
"You could argue that the fact we're not scared to ask for an upgrade or a different room demonstrates the 'have a go' spirit for which we're renowned," she said.
Other findings of the survey show that given the choice, 92 per cent of Australians prefer to travel overseas than in their own country.
Those who chose to stay in Australia said they did so because it was cheaper and because they were close to their work and family if anything happened to them.
Only 10.5 per cent said they opted to holiday at home to support the local economy and just over 5 per cent did so to avoid overcoming language difficulties overseas.
Almost one in four surveyed said they had travelled overseas in the past year but almost one in 10 said they had not taken an overseas holiday in more than five years."
By Rosemary Desmond
07-09-2005
From: AAP
http://finance.news.com.au/story/0,10166,16522095-31037,00.html
"AUSTRALIANS are not shy about complaining when they travel overseas, a national survey has found.
A third of the 1230 people surveyed by email said they thought nothing of asking for a flight upgrade to first or business class, Justine Waddington, marketing manager of on-line travel company OctopusTravel.com, said.
More surprising was that one in four were prepared to kick up a fuss when they did not get it.
The survey also found almost one in 10 admitted to having asked to switch hotel rooms for no good reason other than to get a better room.
But contrary to the popular belief Australians were adventurous overseas, the survey found they were generally a little more wary in some situations and had a tendency to stick to what they knew.
"I think it reflects that we are travel-savvy," Ms Waddington said.
"We are good travellers."
"You could argue that the fact we're not scared to ask for an upgrade or a different room demonstrates the 'have a go' spirit for which we're renowned," she said.
Other findings of the survey show that given the choice, 92 per cent of Australians prefer to travel overseas than in their own country.
Those who chose to stay in Australia said they did so because it was cheaper and because they were close to their work and family if anything happened to them.
Only 10.5 per cent said they opted to holiday at home to support the local economy and just over 5 per cent did so to avoid overcoming language difficulties overseas.
Almost one in four surveyed said they had travelled overseas in the past year but almost one in 10 said they had not taken an overseas holiday in more than five years."