How many of us are faking it?

How many of us are faking it?
By admin


A new and somewhat strange trend has taken off in the travel world, and funnily enough, it involves no travel plans whatsoever.

The ‘fakecation’, as it’s been dubbed, is the latest Aussie quirk that we’ve invented to get out of all the mandatory end of year events, like the work Christmas party, family dinner or your high school reunion.

And according to Hotels.com, it’s not just a small number of us inventing little white lies.

In fact according to Hotels.com research, almost one in five (20%) Aussies are faking a holiday, with the top reasons for doing so including avoiding catching up with someone they don’t want to see (50%), not having to attend the work Christmas party (16%) and surprisingly escaping having to catch-up with friends (11%).  

Aussies are also good at getting away with it, with almost two in five sidestepping an event with a surprise fake holiday.

Hotels.com brand’s regional director for ANZ & Singapore Katherine Cole said the trend is something that has surprised the team, but is undoubtedly catching on.

“We’re expecting there will be many Aussies taking a Fakecation leading up to Christmas party season,” she said.

And while not everyone is bold enough to fake an entire holiday, 38% admit they’ve considered doing so to avoid upcoming commitments and events such as catching up with acquaintances, the most likely reason at 65%.

The research also put men in the lead when it comes to inventing a ‘fakecation’ versus women, while Gen Y’s are the most brazen of all, with 29% pulling a fast one.

Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are favourite spots for a fake vacation, with Asia close behind, and while most are happy just to tell the lie and leave it at that, 18% go as far as posting fake holiday snaps or status updates to keep the lie alive.

But in a slight redemption of humanity, it seems there are some Aussies that just can’t seem to fib a ‘fakecation’, with one in 10 actually booking a last-minute getaway in order to stay true to their word.

I guess there are worse ways to deal with guilt.

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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