OPINION: Why take a vacation when you can take a fakecation?

Apparently this is the new holiday trend for people who don't want to catch up with family at Christmas, but don't really fancy going anywhere either.

New research from Hotels.com has found that people are faking holidays to avoid commitments, whether it's attending a 10-year reunion, a family get-together or even an unwanted catch-up with friends.

According to the research, one in 10 Australians were caught out on their holiday fib leaving them no doubt a little red faced.

Do people really get so little enjoyment from hanging out with their family and friends that they are forced to make up a fake vacation?

Apparently Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are at the top of the list for domestic phoney getaways, while Bail and Singapore were the most highly ranked international bogus holidays.

A Dutch student, Zilla van den Born, faked an entire South-East Asian holiday, complete with photoshopped snapshots, which she shared on social media. According to her Facebook page she was enjoying herself at exotic beaches, temples and restaurants, but sadly she was at home, probably sitting on her couch the whole time.

It's not surprising that the fakecation fib gets the better of almost 10% of Aussie fakers - probably overcome with guilt and wondering how they are going to last on one packet of Weetbix for two weeks since they will be unable to run down to the shops for fear of running into someone they know - and they actually end up booking a real holiday.