Hamish Brooks

February 5 2012

With one of the busiest holiday weekends drawing to a close on Sunday, it was revealed Torquay shot up in the rankings of accommodation bookings compared to last year.

Kirsty Harrison, a lastminute.com.au spokesperson, said that with Australia Day falling on Thursday this year instead of mid-week, Torquay recorded an increase that exceeded 1,000 per cent.

“Australia Day and the beach go hand-in-hand so it’s not that surprising to see Torquay take the title of second most popular spot for the Australia Day period via bookings made on lastminute.com.au,” she said.

“Torquay saw a massive increase in bookings, up 1,467 per cent on last year when the public holiday fell mid-week. Lorne and Apollo Bay also did well to feature in the top 10 list taking out the sixth and seventh spot respectively.

“Aside from the beach, there are some gorgeous accommodation options on offer in the region, the cafés have a great reputation and Bells Beach is just down the road so there are plenty of drawcards. Being only 90 minutes away from Melbourne makes it very appealing for a short break.”

Torquay’s position in the list for the most popular Victorian destinations for the Australia Day period in 2011 was tenth. Lorne was equal third and Apollo Bay fifth.

This year Torquay jumped to second place with Lorne and Apollo Bay falling to fifth and sixth respectively.

David Muir from Surf Coast Holiday Rentals said there had been a large spike in the remaining holiday period with shorter stays and concurred that Australia Day falling on Thursday this year had helped matters.

“The weather was the biggest component in a good month,” he said.

“Last year was very unfortunate with high rainfall killing anyone’s motivation for a coastal holiday. This year we had so many people wanting to extend their stay whereas last year they were throwing their keys back at us after two or three days, saying they could watch the rain at home.”

He expects strong bookings through February and into March’s long weekend, via the Surf Coast Holiday Rentals website at www.surfcoastrentals.com.au.