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Tripadvisor’s Spring Travel Index reveals nearly three-quarters of Aussies will travel this Spring despite ongoing inflation and rising fuel costs
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Columbia and Indonesia experience biggest demand growth for Australians planning Spring vacations
AUSTRALIA, 16 August, 2022 - Spring is right around the corner and as the frosty winter weather begins to warm, Australians are ready to get back on the road to discover the good out there. As temperatures begin to rise, today, Tripadvisor releases its 2022 Spring Travel Index, to reveal 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. While the annual consumer price index climbed to 6.1% - its highest in 21 years - nearly three-quarters of Australian respondents (72%) say that they are planning a Spring trip this year.
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%) 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%) 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%) Australian respondents said that they plan to travel more this Spring than they did during the same period last year and 48% 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% 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%) of Australians and two-thirds (60%) 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:
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Sydney, New South Wales
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Melbourne, Victoria
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Cairns, Queensland
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Surfers Paradise, Queensland
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Port Douglas, Queensland
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Brisbane, Queensland
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Darwin, Northern Territory
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Perth, Western Australia
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Hobart, Tasmania
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Broadbeach, Queensland
However, a compelling trend rises to the top: long-haul air travel is back. Of those surveyed, 39% of Australian travellers will travel more than seven hours and more than half (55%) 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.
Known as home to the second largest salt mine in Colombia - a highly Instagrammable attraction - Nemocón is a small town on the outskirts of Bogota, the South American country's capital. On this private tour bookable on Tripadvisor, visitors to the town can explore the salt mine 80 metres underground and marvel at the world’s biggest salt crystal, known as the ‘Colombian Heart’.
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%), food (50%), people (47%), activities (46%), and weather (42%).
More than half of respondents (56%) said that the purpose of their trip is to make memories with family and friends and a quarter (25%) 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
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NOTES TO EDITOR
The data cited in this release was gathered and analysed from two key sources:
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A Tripadvisor Consumer Sentiment Survey, based on data drawn from an online survey of over 2,700 consumers, in partnership with Qualtrics, conducted between 6 July, 2022 through 22 July, 2022 across six countries - U.S., UK, Australia, Italy, Singapore and Japan.
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Site behavioral data sourced from first party traffic data on the Tripadvisor platform, gathered during the week commencing 4 July, 2022, for searches made by AU travellers from 1 June, 2022 through 30 June, 2022 for travel between 1 September, 2022 through 30 November, 2022.
For further information, contact apacpr@tripadvisor.com
About Tripadvisor
Tripadvisor, the world's largest travel guidance platform*, helps hundreds of millions of people each month** become better travelers, from planning to booking to taking a trip. Travelers across the globe use the Tripadvisor site and app to discover where to stay, what to do and where to eat based on guidance from those who have been there before. With more than 1 billion reviews and opinions of nearly 8 million businesses, travelers turn to Tripadvisor to find deals on accommodations, book experiences, reserve tables at delicious restaurants and discover great places nearby. As a travel guidance company available in 43 markets and 22 languages, Tripadvisor makes planning easy no matter the trip type.
The subsidiaries of Tripadvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP), own and operate a portfolio of travel media brands and businesses, operating under various websites and apps, including the following websites:
www.bokun.io, www.cruisecritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.thefork.com, www.helloreco.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.housetrip.com, www.jetsetter.com, www.niumba.com, www.seatguru.com, www.singleplatform.com, www.vacationhomerentals.com, and www.viator.com.
* Source: SimilarWeb, unique users de-duplicated monthly, June 2022
** Source: Tripadvisor internal log files
