The spirit of the family Christmas will be alive and well this year, with a new poll released today showing one-third of Australians will choose to bunk down in the spare room of their family and friends when taking a trip this summer.

In what also signals a clear shift towards more Aussies choosing to holiday in their own backyard, the new nation-wide survey undertaken by Nielsen on behalf of the Tourism & Transport Forum Australia (TTF) has found that 78 per cent of people who intend to take a break will do so in Australia.

“While making up the spare room for the friends and relos has always been a summer tradition in Australia, this year a whopping 33 per cent of people will opt to stay with their loved ones over a hotel or motel,” TTF Chief Executive Margy Osmond said.

“Catching up with family and friends also remains the number one day trip activity for Australians this summer, with 60 per cent of all people taking a day trip doing so to see their loved ones, ahead of going shopping (56 per cent) and going to a restaurant or café (52 per cent).

“This reflects the incredible resurgence of the domestic Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) market over the past 12 months, which has seen a seven per cent spike to 32.5 million overnight trips.”

Ms Osmond said the TTF survey also found the Aussie summer holiday looks to be as popular as ever, with two-thirds of all Australians are planning on heading off on a break over the coming months.

“Nothing quite says summer like a holiday and this year looks like it is going to be a bumper season, with two-thirds of Australians hitting the road for a break,” TTF Chief Executive Margy Osmond said.

“With the official start of the summer holiday now upon us, the thought of millions of Aussies heading off on holidays will be music to the ears of tourism operators across the country.

“For the industry this is the busiest time of the year, and the good news is it appears to be shaping up as another cracking season. With two-thirds of people planning to take some sort of break, the big winner is the nation’s visitor economy and the more than one million jobs it supports.”