Domestic travel booms as industry expected to make full recovery next year

The domestic travel industry is expected to make a full recovery in 2023 as more Queenslanders are making some big decisions. SEE THE TOP 10 DESTINATIONS

Queenslanders are more interested in exploring their back yards than going overseas as industry experts predict a full recovery of the domestic travel industry next year as it returns to pre-Covid levels.

New data from Intrepid Travel Index has found more than half of all Queensland residents prefer to travel in their own state rather than internationally, while 71 per cent have decided outdoor travel and exploration is now more important to them since the pandemic.

Intrepid Travel managing director, Sarah Clark, said she expected more Queenslanders would be ditching long overseas trips for more local, experience rich travel.

Queenslanders are getting back into the swing of travel. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

“While international is coming back - and it’s currently three quarters of our sales - domestic travel is here to stay. Pre-Covid, 11 per cent of our total sales out of this market were for Australia, and that’s now moved to 23 per cent,” she said.

It comes as Brisbane Airport CEO Gert-Jan de Graaff has forecasted the full recovery of the Australian domestic travel industry in 2023.

“Travel, leisure and business combined, is now at about 90 per cent of pre-Covid levels and we believe that we will be back at 2019 levels in early 2023,” he said.

Mr de Graaff said that he was confident travel volumes would be exceeding 2019 levels in just over two years.

Meanwhile, international travel has returned at a slower rate with the travel industry operating at 50 per cent of pre-Covid levels.

Flight Centre Corporate’s annual Illuminate conference on October 20 will explore the future of the travel industry, with Mr de Graaff also set to reveal future developments on Brisbane Airport following the 2032 Olympic Games.

“We are running out of domestic terminal capacity and will require additional international terminal capacity before the Games,” he said.

“My biggest prediction is that, when passengers travel in 2032, they will be travelling through a completely new state-of-the-art Brisbane Airport, net zero, or even climate positive Scope 1 and 2, with new mass transport solutions to and from each terminal.”

Additional upgrades on the domestic terminal are also on the way with Mr de Graaff revealing plans to build a mezzanine for the new security checkpoint.

“We are implementing upgrades to allow passengers to move directly from our multi-level car park into the security checkpoint, offering a streamlined entrance into the terminal,” he said.

“A new baggage system will also be introduced, while self-service products and services, such as self-service check-in, are on the way.”

Top 10 countries on Queensland’s travel list

1. Italy

2. USA

3. Antarctica

4. Egypt

5. Vietnam

6. Turkey

7. India

8. Peru

9. Morocco

10. Cambodia