Turkish Delight May 21, 2015 Turkish travellers most supportive of Eurovision Song Contest across Europe Thursday 21st May 2015: When it comes to most supportive fans of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, Turkey tops the chart with hotel searches to Vienna increasing 91% on last year*. Even without their own act in the contest, Hotels.com has found that Turkish travellers are the biggest fans across Europe. Norway features in second with a 72% increase in hotel searches as the nation hopes that ‘A Monster Like Me’ could be this year’s winning song. Spain takes third most patriotic, with 58% of additional residents searching for hotels in Vienna compared to last year. Hotel search increases in the UK were also up by 38% compared with 2014, despite having not won the competition since 1997! ‘Electro Velvet’ appear to have inspired Brits to make the journey over to the annual singing competition, beating other countries such as Italy (up 25%) and Germany (up 14%). It was a different story for the host country, as Austria only reported an increase of 3%, showing the ‘Conchita effect’ may not work two years in a row. With Australia taking part for the first time ever, fan favourite Guy Sebastian has sparked a 41% increase in searches to Vienna this year. From the announcement in February, Aussies are hoping to see the their contestant take home the trophy this year. Yvonne Bonanati of the Hotels.com brand said: “Eurovision is such an iconic tradition spanning 60 years, its only natural for supporters to flock to the host city in support of their act. It’s great to see such a show of encouragement from certain countries this year, especially from the UK, where the contest is often seen as a guilty pleasure. With Turkey rejoining the competition next year we look forward to seeing which fans are most dedicated in 2016.” Top ten hotel search increases to Vienna for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest via Hotels.com Rank Country Search Increases / % 1 Turkey 91% 2 Norway 72% 3 Spain 58% 4 Switzerland 53% 5 France 47% 6 UK 38% 7 Italy 25% 8= Germany 14% 8= Ireland 14% 10 Netherlands 10% *Searches taken from 6th August 2014 – 10th April 2015 vs. 6th August 2013 – 10th April 2014 About Hotels.com (www.hotels.com) Hotels.com, a leading online accommodation booking website with properties ranging from international chains and all-inclusive resorts to local favorites and bed & breakfasts, together with all the information needed to book the perfect stay. Special apps for mobile phones and tablets can also be downloaded enabling customers to book on the go with access to 20,000 last minute deals. Press contacts: Frank PR Doug McPherson and Polly MacLennan tel: 0207 693 6999 Email: [email protected] Carolina Annand Senior Public Relations Manager Hotels.com tel: +44 (0) 207 019 2095 Email: [email protected] .