Aussies giving domestic holidays a miss

Domestic tourism in Australia is suffering as more Aussies are enticed to travel overseas according to Tourism Research Australia's latest National Visitor Survey.

Released on Wednesday, the survey shows a seven percent decline to 66.4 million in the number of overnight trips taken by Aussies in the year ending September 30, 2009.

Spending also dropped six percent to $42.2 billion during the period.

Hotels lost out even more during the year as Aussies clamoured take a day trip, which experienced a five per cent increase in popularity.

The highest number of overnight visits were recorded in NSW (33 percent) followed by Queensland and Victoria (24 per cent). These three states, in the same order, also welcomed the most day trippers.

The Northern Territory was the only state or territory to record a growth in overnight visitors.

The lower number of overnight visits and spending has pushed the total economic value of domestic tourism down four percent to $62.8 billion.