IT’S nice to be able to treat yourself on holiday and not have to worry about finances, but Australians are reportedly losing a staggering $4.4 billion on easily avoidable tourist traps, a new analysis has claimed. The research, conducted by comparison site Mozo — which surveyed a sample of Australian travellers — found that Aussies abroad are losing an average of $448 each per year while holidaying. When extrapolated with the number of short-term departures recorded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), this figure totals $4.4 billion as a nation. The costliest holiday money trap, according to the research, is dining in overpriced cafes and restaurants situated around the main tourist attractions. One in four Aussie travellers admitted to paying a premium for drinks and meals at tourist hot spots, adding around $380 to their annual holiday bill. “Overpaying for a meal or putting up with poor exchange rates can seem fairly minor at the time but the reality is these money leaks can add up over the course of a holiday,” Mozo spokeswoman Kirsty Lamont said. Our penchant for dining out at tourist hot spots has cost us close to a billion dollars in the last year, she said. “While on holidays, it’s easy to treat yourself to little luxuries like breakfast at a cafe overlooking the Seine, but a lot of the time you’re paying exorbitant mark-ups simply for location — not quality of food. “Often travellers can get more authentic foodie experiences for less by simply asking locals where they eat or consulting blogs for hidden gems.”This same apathy is also costing us big when it comes to exchanging currencies too. Poor exchange rates came in as the second most expensive holiday money leak, with those affected losing an average of $250 in the last year — a problem that Ms Lamont said is very easily fixed. “Travellers exchanging currency before they leave can minimise the pang of dismal exchange rates by comparing exchange rates from different currency exchange specialists. While abroad travellers should avoid exchanging currency at the airport, or risk exorbitant fees and margins eating into their holiday spending money.” But the most common money trap we are falling into overseas are overseas ATM charges. Almost half (40 per cent) of overseas jetsetters surveyed admitted being slugged with a pricey ATM fee in the past year, costing each traveller an extra $70 to their holiday bill. More than three quarters of travellers told Mozo they don’t research their card provider’s charges for withdrawing cash from an ATM before their trip, yet they are twice as likely to research their carrier’s luggage allowance rules.