LESS popular: The Gold Coast's tourism stocks have dipped.
MELBOURNE has overtaken the Gold Coast as the most popular destination for a domestic holiday, new research has found.
While a year ago the two cities were equal, Melbourne's popularity has been rising since that time and the Gold Coast's has been falling.
The Roy Morgan Research study found 21 per cent of Australians would like to take a holiday in Melbourne in the next two years – up two per cent from last March.
At the same time the number of people who elected the Gold Coast dropped three per cent to 19 per cent.
The Sunshine Coast has also been losing popularity, falling three per cent to 13 per cent over the year.
While Sydney was the city which had experienced the biggest decline in popularity over the past nine years there has been a recovery in the past 12 months.
The survey found 12 per cent of Australians would like to holiday in Sydney in the next two years – which while lower than the 16 per cent recorded the year after the Olympics in 2001 – was up from the 10 per cent from early 2007 to late last year.
Roy Morgan Research's international director of tourism, travel and leisure Jane Ianniello said domestic destinations had suffered because Australians were increasingly holidaying overseas.
But she said Melbourne was the exception because of its special events such as musicals and sporting events, cultural attractions, shopping, cafe society and fine dining.
"It's so cheap and easy to get to Melbourne because of the discounted airfares and Tourism Victoria has done an incredible job marketing Melbourne," she said.
"It's been an integrated campaign with a consistent marketing message for many years."
She said Sydney had been damaged by the negative publicity after the Cronulla riots in December 2005, but the research indicated its latest marketing campaign has been successful.
Ms Ianniello said the Gold Coast had suffered because of competition from short-haul overseas destinations which offered a similar experience, such as Fiji or Bali.
"This is especially true for people who live in Sydney or Melbourne, which is their biggest source market," she said.
"There were some amazing packages being offered during the global financial crisis."
About 20,000 people are surveyed each year for the study.
