West Australians appear to be taking up the challenge to holiday within the State and help drive the post COVID-19 economic recovery, with weekly Airbnb bookings up 106 per cent on the same time last year.
As of last week, same-state bookings in WA trailed only the Northern Territory (107 per cent), while Queensland (73 per cent), South Australia (54 per cent), Victoria (34 per cent) and NSW (37 per cent) all recording spikes as well, The Australian reports.
Eighty per cent of bookings last week were for stays in regional areas outside of capital cities.
Airbnb co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk told The Australian total bookings from Australia were now at 80 per cent of pre-COVID levels, and that number was increasing every week.
“Frankly, what people want in this time Airbnb is uniquely qualified to provide,” he said.
“They want to get out of the city and explore places close to home.
“Well, we have tonnes of homes in these rural areas, basically in every village, town or forest you can find a listing, and not just a home but something very unique.”
