Sydney, 11 June 2011: This June long weekend, Australians were more likely to be watching television or eating at restaurants, ahead of travelling, playing sport, visiting the cinemas and even going to the beach, a Citibank survey has found.

The Citibank Frequent Dining Survey asked respondents to rank their favourite pastimes out of ten, with one being least and ten being most preferred. The survey found respondents rated watching television or surfing the net as their favourite pastime with an average ranking of 6.7, closely followed by dining out (6.5) and travel (6.4).

The survey also found that Australians eat out regularly, with 88.7 percent of those surveyed saying they eating out at least once a month. One in three dine out at least once a week (35.9 percent) and one in four (23.4 percent) eat out even more than once per week.

According to Madeline O’Connor, Director of Credit Cards Citibank, recent credit card expenditure from Citibank customers supports the finding that Australians are regularly eating out.

“In the past, eating out at restaurants was considered a luxury or something you did for a special occasion, but now dining out has become a way of life for most Australians,” Ms O’Connor said.

Citibank’s customer credit card expenditure on food and beverages has increased from $291.1 million to $331.8 million during the last twelve months, although average amount per transaction on food and beverages has decreased slightly from $66.43 per to $63.67.

“We’re living in an era when many people are time-poor so eating out is as much about convenience as it is about socialising, particularly when you consider that one in four are eating out more than once per week.

“Our credit card data has found that yearly spend at restaurants has remained relatively flat. When you consider that overall retail spend has declined in the same period, it might suggest that Australians our opting to dine out for either the convenience or the social benefits in preference to buying material possessions,” Ms O’Connor said.

“Our survey also shows that Australians are eating at well-known restaurants with one in five (47.1 percent) selecting fine dining restaurants as their usual haunt. This might be a result of the popularity of television food programs and the rise of the celebrity chefs,” Ms O’Connor said.

Local restaurants are the most frequented dining venues, as chosen by 72.3 percent of respondents, closely followed by casual dining which were chosen by 65.2 percent of those surveyed.

Key findings from the Citibank Frequent Dining Survey
* Television and net-surfing ranked as the favourite pastime by Australians.
* Eating out at restaurants comes in as the second favourite way to spend time
* Nearly 90 percent of those surveyed say they eat out at least once per month
* One in four surveyed eat out at least once per week