Australians prefer Melbourne over Sydney

The 2010 Hotel Price Index survey reflects that Melbourne outshone Sydney as the most popular domestic destination for Australian travellers in 2010.

The survey showed that Sydney was deemed more expensive by most Australian travellers. Johan Svanstrom, vice president, Asia Pacific, Hotels.com, was quoted in eTravel Blackboard Australia as having said that what helped Melbourne scoot up to number one over the course of last year was the particularly fast rise in prices in Sydney, and clearly, when prices are perceived to be high, people start looking elsewhere. According to the survey, Sydney hotel prices went up by 16% last year to AU$168 a night while Melbourne hotel prices remained steady with an average of AU$146 a night.

Gold Coast took the third spot following Sydney, Cairns took fourth and Adelaide took the fifth spot in the rankings.