Two thirds of Aussies are planning a spring holiday
According to Tripadvisor’s Spring Travel Index nearly three-quarters of Aussies will travel this spring despite ongoing inflation and rising fuel costs
With spring around the corner and the weather beginning to warm, Australians are ready to get back on the road to discovery. Newly released data from Tripadvisor‘s 2022 Spring Travel Index, reveals what and where is hot for Aussie travellers this season.
The study, which is based on a combination of Tripadvisor’s first-party search and proprietary consumer sentiment data, shows that Australians are over the cold and ready for some spring trips to the nearest spot of sunshine.
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While the annual consumer price index climbed to 6.1 percent – its highest in 21 years – nearly three-quarters of Australian respondents (72 percent) say that they are planning a spring trip this year.
Long haul is in with Columbia and Indonesia showing the biggest growth in demand from Australians seeking overseas vacations and city breaks are the top choice destinations for domestic travellers.
Cost of living crisis: Aussies will still travel, albeit a bit differently
While the Tripadvisor Spring Travel Index shows that spiralling costs won’t put Australians off travelling this upcoming season, of those booking trips, three out of five (60 percent) said that inflation will impact the way in which they travel. Twenty-eight percent said that they will likely travel for shorter lengths of time and thirty-two percent said that they will likely travel somewhere closer to home than previously planned.
For the majority of Australians, continued rising costs are unsurprisingly prompting consumers to alter their spending habits, inclusive of adjusting their travel plans. Despite rising costs, however, the survey also showed that a third (36 percent) of Australians still intend to travel as planned this Spring – inflation be damned.
For many, it seems that a holiday is too precious to give up and Aussies would rather cut back on expenses elsewhere to protect that all-important time away. In fact, two in five (41 percent) Australian respondents said that they plan to travel more this Spring than they did during the same period last year and 48 percent plan to spend more. This is also reflected in traveller behaviour, as Tripadvisor site data shows that the average value of a trip booked by Australian travellers this Spring is 36 percent higher than the same period in 2021.
Domestic travel reigns supreme, but long-haul flights are back
In keeping with the global trend indicated by this season’s Tripadvisor Travel Index, domestic trips remain the number one choice among Australian travellers; nearly four-fifths (79 percent) of Australians and two-thirds (60 percent) of global travellers surveyed will opt for domestic travel this spring.
The top domestic destinations for the upcoming season, as revealed by Tripadvisor site data are:
- Sydney, New South Wales
- Melbourne, Victoria
- Cairns, Queensland
- Surfers Paradise, Queensland
- Port Douglas, Queensland
- Brisbane, Queensland
- Darwin, Northern Territory
- Perth, Western Australia
- Hobart, Tasmania
- Broadbeach, Queensland
However, a compelling trend rises to the top: long-haul air travel is back. Of those surveyed, 39 percent of Australian travellers will travel more than seven hours and more than half (55 percent) plan to travel by plane. Tripadvisor search underscores travel around the September school holidays as the most popular time to get away.
Colombia tops the list of trending spring hotspots for Aussies
When looking at destinations which have seen the biggest year-on-year increase in searches on Tripadvisor by Aussies for trips this Spring, Nemocón, Colombia tops the list. This is followed by the Indonesian island with clear blue waters perfect for surfing and drift diving – Nusa Lembongan.
The island of Bali in Indonesia is one of the hottest destinations for Australians this Spring, represented by seven destinations in the top ten, including Pecatu, Tanjung Benoa and Legian ranking third, fourth and fifth fastest growing destinations respectively.
Australians keen on a change in scenery
When it comes to the most exciting components of a trip, the Tripadvisor Spring Travel Index revealed that the top five picks for Aussies are: scenery (60 percent), food (50 percent), people (47 percent), activities (46 percent), and weather (42 percent).
More than half of respondents (56 percent) said that the purpose of their trip is to make memories with family and friends and a quarter (25 percent) have booked an on-trip activity ahead of their trip to help them do so.
As many Australians report wanting new and unique experiences this spring, below Tripadvisor breaks down the top ten trending destinations for Australians, along with a top-rated experience to be had there.
Top trending destinations for spring
Fastest growing based on year-over-year growth
Destination | Highly-rated hotel | Highly-rated thing to do | |
1. | La Colina Hotel Cottage (located in Bogotá as accommodation in Nemocón is limited) | ||
2. | |||
3. | Uluwatu Sunset, Kecak Dance, and Grilled Seafood Dinner Jimbaran | ||
4. | |||
5. | |||
6. | |||
7. | Explore Sigatoka-Fijian Pottery village,School,Sand Dunes/Shopping Ex CoralCoast | ||
8. | |||
9. | Balinese Cooking Class in Seminyak | ||
10. |
Mandy has over 17 years of accommodation and tourism industry writing experience and is Editor of AccomNews & Resort News, Publisher of SchoolNews & Director of Multimedia Pty Ltd. She is a retired registered nurse with a 25-year NHS career that followed a few unforgettable years in hotel housekeeping.
