HostelBookers Unveils Travel Behaviour Trends

LONDON, February 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Back in September 2010, HostelBookers, the budget accommodation specialist, launched its biggest ever travel survey. It was a great opportunity for customers not only to share their travel experiences but also to be questioned about their preferred mode of transport and their attitude to love and sex while abroad.

The results are in and reveal the travel trends ( http://www.hostelbookers.com/survey-results-2011/) from over 15,000 respondents: 'Sightseeing and culture' (80.7%) is the main reason customers choose to travel followed by 'city break' (47.0%) and 'visiting friends and family' (44.6%). Travellers have upped their accommodation budget: In 2009, 28% of them spent over $/GBP/EUR30 compared to 40% spending the same in 2010, but it also appeared people are feeling the pinch as the number of them taking 'no trips' increased from 2.4% in 2009 to 5.4% in 2010.

It also emerged that the Internet remains the number one resource for our customers, whether booking hostels (http://www.hostelbookers.com/) online or keeping in touch with friends and family. Over 86% of those surveyed check the Internet at least twice a week on holiday. To respond to this demand for Web access, many of our hostels now supply guests with Wi-Fi and Internet kiosks.

The survey results show that the English (8.3%) followed by Australian (8.2%) and Italians (7.8%) make the best lovers. Bottom of the list for the second year in a row are the Irish.

More travellers are enjoying nookie in dorms, 16% in 2010 up from 14% in 2009. The results also show an increase in the number of people taking precautions and having protected sex on their travels: 92% practiced safe sex on holiday in 2009 but last year this figure rose to 94%.

David Smith, COO at HostelBookers, said: "Last year we carried out the biggest ever travel survey to find out more about our customers and their needs in order to maintain the great service we deliver. It is interesting to see that people consider hostels the best choice for atmosphere, unbeatable prices and that they offer better city centre locations than many hotels."

For further information please go to http://www.hostelbookers.com/survey-results-2011/

HostelBookers is the only budget accommodation website in the travel industry that does not apply a service charge and is, on average, 8.7% cheaper (http://www.hostelbookers.com/hostelworld-price-comparison/) than its nearest competitor. It features over 20,000 hostels and budget properties on its website in 3,500 destinations across the world.

Giovanna Gentile, +44(0)20-7440-4931 - Giovanna.Gentile@Hostelbookers.com