Booking hotels and tickets well in advance has long defined Australian travellers but as household budgets come under stress, last-minute trips and spontaneity are becoming more popular.
Amid high prices for groceries, housing and other essentials, Tourism & Transport Forum chief executive officer Margy Osmond has been observing a shift in holidaying habits.
People are still travelling, she told AAP, but are cutting costs by taking shorter trips, staying closer to home, and dining in cheaper restaurants.
A drift towards last-minute and spontaneous bookings was another product of financial pressure, Ms Osmond said, particularly for young people.
More likely to be earning less than older generations and often in casual or gig jobs - so less certain of their work schedules - young people are particularly prone to booking on a whim.
Surveying by the tourism forum found 60 per cent of young people planning to go on holiday over the Christmas and New Year period expected to spend less than they normally would.
Ms Osmond said the tug towards spontaneity was putting pressure on tourism operators.
"The unpredictability around it and the booking at the last minute does make it difficult to provision, to make sure you have sufficient staff and all sorts of things," she said.
Other trends have been working to the advantage of local operators, including the shift towards stay-cations.
"The fact that plenty of Australians are choosing to holiday at home and holiday in their own state is playing particularly well for operators in major cities," Ms Osmond said.
"And obviously, coastal regional communities will be doing quite well out of this."
Heading into New Year's Eve, three-quarters of the 2011 Australians surveyed by polling company Pure Profile said they would be staying in the town they lived in.
Another 13 per cent said they would be staying in their own state, while eight per cent said they would be going interstate.
More than a third said cost-of-living pressures were impacting their New Year's Eve celebrations.
