Northern Territory Airbnb bookings soar as restrictions continue to ease

AIRBNB bookings in NT have soared by 93 per cent as Territorians prepare to explore their own backyards under newly relaxed restrictions

Darwin Airbnb owner Lina Paselli-Kruse says she is excited to finally see a uptake in short stay bookings recently after a long dry spell. Picture: Che Chorley

AIRBNB bookings in NT soared by 93 per cent last week as Territorians prepare to explore their own backyards under newly relaxed restrictions.

With restrictions on travel within the NT being lifted on June 5, Territorians have been booking and planning local holidays like never before.

New data from Airbnb shows there was a 93 per cent increase in bookings in Northern Territory from May 17-23 compared with the same week last year.

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Darwin Airbnb owner Lina Paselli-Kruse said she was excited to finally see a uptake in short stay bookings recently after a long dry spell due to travel restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Prior this week we only had longer stay requests for one to three months which is something we’ve had to adapt to,” she said.

“But those short stay bookings under one and two weeks are finally coming back, we haven’t seen those in a while.”

She said the bookings will continue to rise now that forced hotel quarantine is being rolled back on June 15.

“It means finally we can get back to almost normal obviously we’re missing the tourists but there’s a whole lot of people who are going to be travelling back here and don’t want to be cramped up in a small hotel room,” she said.

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Airbnb Australia manager Susan Wheeldon they were definitely seeing a strong resurgence in people actively searching for ideal getaway spots in the NT this Dry.

“People are looking for stays that are close to home, familiar and safe, and make for affordable getaways,” she said.