School-leavers are saying goodbye to a drunken week in an apartment and hello to 'YOLO-cations' -filling their Schoolies Week with experiences and activities such as sky diving, jet boating and surfing lessons.

Bookings for experiences and activities in key schoolies destinations such as Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast have risen 40 per cent in two years, according to Australia's leading travel experience provider Experience Oz.

Every year thousands of eager teenagers spend considerable dollars on Schoolies travel and accommodation and figures show they are now embracing 'YOLO-cations' - vacations that fit the youth mantra of 'You Only Live Once' -  taking advantage of attractions, experiences and tourist sites their schoolies destination has to offer.

Experience Oz General Manager Clint Gudenswager said that the teenagers, particularly those from New South Wales and Victoria were looking for more bang for their buck by booking activities such as theme park tickets and jet boating to fill in their holiday.

"The schoolies of 2013 don't want to just drink at night and sleep during the day; they want experience based fun and amazing memories, which is a trend we have seen emerging over the last two years," he said.

 "We began to notice a substantial increase in bookings during Schoolies Week in 2012 from 2011 figures, with bookings up year on year about 15 per cent."

"We are already taking in a large number of bookings for attractions throughout the schoolies period showing the 'YOLO-cation trend' is cementing into 2013," Mr Gudenswager said.

"We've received a high number of bookings already from Sydney and Melbourne based parents and school leavers, obviously wanting to make the most out of their trip to the Queensland."

 "The theme parks are a hit for Schoolies from the Southern states and we've seen a spike in bookings for these products in the second week, compared to the Queensland schoolies who may have experienced everything the Gold Coast has to offer already and are less likely to book theme park experiences."

Experience Oz provide a wide variety of activities including rafting, shark diving, whale watching, skydiving, tours, cruises, and many more activities which deliver a safe and enjoyable alternative to the traditional heavy drinking and intense party scene that Schoolies is renowned for.

"Some tourism operators were previously reluctant to sell tickets to any school-leavers, but that is changing" Mr Gudenswager said.

"This change creates a more positive and safe environment for the teenagers to enjoy these amazing destinations and celebrate the end of thirteen years of schooling."

Schoolies kicks off on November 16 in Queensland and runs until December 8 in New South Wales and Victoria.

Top 4 Experiences for Gold Coast Schoolies 2013 (by number of bookings to date)

1               Dreamworld 

2               Wet'n'Wild

3               Extreme Jet boating 

4               Surf lessons

Experience Oz offers a best price guarantee on tours, attractions and activities with no booking or credit card fees and unbiased reviews all on a secure online booking site.

Over 2000 products including theme park tickets, attraction tickets, day tours, hot air ballooning, jet boating, whale watching and great dinner and show packages are all on offer at Experience Oz with customers able to skip the queues at most attractions and save valuable holiday time.

Visit www.ExperienceOz.com.au  or call 1300 935 532 to book or find further information.

For more media information please contact :
Giulia Badalotti or Lucy Fisher
Ruby Public Relations
07 5514 8575 / 0402 491 443
email publicity@rubypublicrelations.com.au  / lucy@rubypublicrelations.com.au

*YOLO: A social media term popular with teenagers, YOLO is an acronym for You Only Live Once.