Holidays and shopping are a match made in heaven with Australians planning on hitting the shops and markets wherever they are holidaying over the summer according to a national survey of 1,000 people by the Tourism & Tourism Forum Australia (TTF).

According to the survey, next to visiting family and friends, shopping is the number one activity with 57 per cent of holidaymakers saying they will head to the mall for some retail therapy and this is slightly more than the 56 per cent that were off to the beach.

Not surprisingly the ladies are making their mark in the shopping space and it is a more popular holiday activity for them at 64 per cent compared to the chaps at 48 per cent.

“Holiday makers will be stamping their mark on the retail landscape and adding to the already strong figures we have seen for retail over the last month,” said Margy Osmond, TTF CEO.

“South Australians are the most likely to get out into the post- Christmas shopping frenzy with 69 per cent of those surveyed and with Victoria the runner up at 64 per cent.

“The most popular spending item is local regional foodstuffs with 50 per cent of people indicating they would buy local seafood, fruit and other delicacies to enjoy while they relaxed.

“This was closely followed by clothes with the lure of the sales in mind. Some 45 per cent of respondents were planning to refurbish the wardrobe or buy ‘must-haves’ for a break on a local beach. Women were much more likely to be following this trend at 54 per cent versus 35 per cent of men buying new glad-rags.

“Souvenirs of any sort are also going to benefit from the mood to shop with 45 per cent opting to purchase a reminder of their holiday. Local alcohol sales were also a focus at 27 per cent of travellers taking advantage of great local wineries and terrific Australian wine and designer spirits saying this would be on their shopping lists.

“In the area of luxury items and jewellery women formed the larger part of the 14 per cent nationally that said they would be spending their cash on expensive baubles and men outstripped women with a greater desire for anything electronic.

“And for those who never want the holiday to end, nearly 2 per cent said they always fall in love with the places they visit and end up buying real estate in their dream holiday spot. It seems that people from Western Australia and New South Wales are most likely to choose this very substantial kind of souvenir.”