Press Release

Thousands of Sydneysiders escape APEC chaos

September 10, 2007

SYDNEYSIDERS in search of peace and quiet fled the city in droves during the APEC summit at the weekend, according to a leading online travel site.

A record 300,000 people flooded leading online travel marketplace, totaltravel.com, in the 4 days leading up to the APEC public holiday, an increase of 18 per cent on normal traffic for a Monday to Thursday.

Most searched for weekend getaway destinations outside of Sydney, with interest in the Hunter Valley increasing 30 per cent, Port Stephens (53 per cent) and the Sapphire Coast ? Bega, Eden and Merimbula (51 per cent).

Some ventured further afield, with interest in the Gold Coast spiking by 22 per cent.

totaltravel.com global marketing manager Paul Fisher said it was no wonder that people had wanted to escape the chaos surrounding APEC.

"Organising the security, transportation and accommodation for the foreign dignitaries that attended APEC, including the US president George W. Bush, would have been a logistical nightmare," Mr Fisher said.

"It was inevitable that Sydneysiders would have been impacted by numerous traffic jams and disruptions to public transport.

"A relaxing weekend at the beach or in the mountains would have seemed much more preferable to locals than a stressful weekend in the city.

"So either Sydneysiders left everything to the last minute or most probably the intense APEC security prompted them to get the hell out!" he said.

totaltravel.com was established in 2002 and is Australia's number one online marketplace for travellers and travel suppliers. Travellers can research destinations, read the opinions of other travellers, find travel offers and then deal directly with travel suppliers to save money.

ENDS

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