New travel trends put Europe on the outer as price-sensitive Australians look closer to home

Heading to Europe for the northern summer is so 2023 it seems, as Australian travellers look elsewhere for 2024, including one closer-to-home city boasting no fewer than 93 Michelin-starred restaurants.

Osaka in Japan saw the biggest increases in travel searches by Australians in the past year, according to Skyscanner.

Spending the northern summer in Europe is so 2023 it would seem. Japan and China now top Australians’ travel searches for the year ahead.

Skyscanner data showed Osaka, Chengdu, Sapporo, Beijing and Tokyo were the top five most searched destinations by Australians wanting to book international travel in 2024.

In the case of Osaka and Chengdu, online searches for flights and accommodation increased fourfold on last year, while Sapporo, Beijing and Tokyo had triple the interest.

Osaka’s appeal was attributed to the city’s reputation as being the “kitchen of Japan” where there are no fewer than 93 Michelin-starred restaurants.

According to the Skyscanner research, food was ranked as one of the top reasons for choosing a destination – behind attractions, weather and cost.

Skyscanner vice-president of flights Hugh Aitken said the price of airfares was of the highest importance to 42 per cent of travellers, and accommodation cost was number one for 12 per cent.

“Having said that, over a third (35 per cent) of Australian travellers have budgeted to spend more on travel in 2024 compared to 2023, while 33 per cent will spend the same,” Mr Aitken said.

“Only 15 per cent have said they’ll spend less.”

The return of Chinese airlines was helping to put downward pressure on fares, even on non-traditional routes.

China Eastern has become the sixth airline to add Sydney-Auckland to its network. Picture: Kurt Ams

China Eastern this week became the sixth airline to add Sydney-Auckland to its itinerary, helping to make travel to the New Zealand city one of the most cost-effective for Australian travellers.

Air New Zealand, AirAsiaX, LATAM, Qantas and Jetstar fly Sydney-Auckland, making the route the most competitive of any international route from Sydney.

“Over the past 12 months, the cost of flights to Auckland has fallen by more than a third, closely followed by Apia (in Samoa) and Jakarta,” Mr Aitken said.

“For travellers looking to vacation further from home, flights to Nairobi have dropped in price by 12 per cent, while Los Angeles is now 11 per cent cheaper than last year, offering further incentive to book a trip across the pond.”

Flight Centre also noted price falls on a number of routes, compared with the highs of late 2022. On average, economy fares to Bali were down 28 per cent on last year but still 27 per cent above what they were in 2019, and fares to Singapore were 15 per cent less expensive than 2022, but 33 per cent higher than pre-Covid.

Flight Centre global head of product and pricing Jason Hartley said there had been a cooling of demand for international travel compared with last year’s “extraordinary bubble”.

Like Skyscanner, Mr Hartley said there were signs of some price sensitivity returning due to inflation, interest rates and cost of living.

“We’re not seeing a lot of purchasing for the 2024 European summer as yet but it will be interesting to see what fares are out there,” he said.

“Already we’ve seen fares (to Europe) come down 10 per cent even since September, thanks to a mixture of more supply from the likes of China Eastern, China Southern, Qantas and Jetstar.”

In further good news for travellers, Mr Hartley said the moderation in economy fares was spreading to the premium cabins as competition heated up among airlines.

Although early bird sales were still few and far between, there were a lot more discounted fares on offer than last year.

“I can see here we’ve got London out of Sydney for under $7000 return in business class, and Bangkok for about $3500 – that’s a sale fare with Malaysia Airlines,” Mr Hartley said.

“Those levels were set a lot higher previously so it’s good to see some sales activity across those cabins because there’s certainly more awareness from customers around the in-flight product quality.”

Originally published as New travel trends put Europe on the outer as price-sensitive Australians look closer to home