Press Release

Commonwealth Games Fever on the Rise as Tourists Race to the Web

February 1, 2006

Commonwealth Games fever has hit Australians with destination website totaltravel.com reporting a 600% increase on the web of those seeking information about Melbourne accommodation, car hire, events and restaurants.

Paul Fisher, totaltravel.com's global marketing manager, said in the last 24 hours there had been 30,000 searches for Melbourne, compared with just 5000 the same time last month.

"With six weeks to go to the opening ceremony, I expect this trend to continue," Mr Fisher said.

"Traditionally Sydney is the most searched for destination but interest in Melbourne is now double that for Sydney.

"People are now asking questions especially about accommodation including whether they can rent single rooms in houses or even whether some Melbournians are leaving the city for the Games and are renting out their houses for the two weeks."

"And many suppliers are reporting they are nearly fully booked."

totaltravel.com is the number one site for Australian's seeking information about destinations, achieving record figures in its latest results.

Launched in 2002, totaltravel.com delivers both a travel guide and a place to find accommodation, activities, transport, restaurants and other visitor information.

Users can seek information about a destination and then be directed to a local business in the area.

The site now offers more than 250,000 pages with contact details for more than 100,000 Australian businesses.

ENDS

Media enquires:
Paul Fisher
Global Marketing Manager
totaltravel.com
Phone +61 (0)2 6680-8755
Mobile 0404 057 367