Press Release

Melbourne is better than Sydney: Australia votes

September 16, 2009

IT may have the Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Bondi Beach, but Sydney has lost out to Melbourne in a new battle for supremacy.

A resounding 46.5 per cent of Australians have voted Melbourne the most preferred city in a new survey by leading online travel marketplace totaltravel.com.

Only 34.5 per cent (348 people) voted for Sydney, while 19 per cent (189 people) preferred neither and thought there were other Australian cities that were better and had less attitude.

The survey asked ‘Which city do you prefer Melbourne or Sydney?’ and attracted 1006 votes.

One online voter commented: “Melbourne has great character - shopping, trams, theatres, galleries, restaurants, beaches.... If Sydney didn't have the beautiful harbour it would be a hole!”

In contrast, some voters only had weather on the mind. One wrote: “Sydney the sun shines more in winter and less in summer - this is welcome relief to me.”

Others voters only had good words for cities like Brisbane, Hobart, Perth, Darwin and Adelaide, with most saying they were friendlier, more relaxed and had less traffic problems.

totaltravel.com marketing manager Paul Fisher said the Melbourne vs. Sydney battle had been going on for decades and it was time to set the record straight.

“We had two very strong contenders in the fight for the top city,” he said.

“Sydney is a beautiful city with a sunny climate, sandy white beaches, a cosmopolitan attitude and a range of iconic attractions like the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Opera House and Luna Park.

“However, the votes are in and Sydney has been well and truly knocked out of contention by Melbourne. Australians just can’t get enough of Melbourne, with its fabulous architecture, shopping, vibrant café culture, museums and art galleries.

“It’s a result that is likely to be quite controversial in some quarters, but I think it’s positive to have debates like this. It keeps the travel industry on its toes. It’s an opportunity for it to reflect on what it is doing right and what it is doing wrong.”

The survey was conducted over a period of five weeks.
ENDS

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

About totaltravel.com
totaltravel.com was established in 2002 and is Australia’s leading online travel 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.