Covid-19’s new shock for embattled travel industry

From how and when we book, to where we’re going, the Covid pandemic continues to turn the travel industry upside down.

Melbourne has overtaken Queensland destinations to be the most booked domestic destination on the Webjet site. Picture: Getty Images

The Covid pandemic has triggered a change in travel booking behaviour among Australians with more than a third now leaving it to the last minute to lock in getaway plans.

Data analysis by travel site Webjet found bookings were typically made one to seven days before travel instead of months in advance, as was the norm prior to the health crisis.

In the first week of January, 35 per cent of bookings were finalised a week before departure, compared to 24 per cent in the October-December period last year.

Overall 77 per cent of trips booked in January were for travel in the same month, up from 58 per cent in January 2019.

Australian Federation of Travel Agents chief executive Dean Long said members were experiencing the same shift in booking behaviour even for international trips, in response to global uncertainty.

He said that had created significant challenges for agents who had less time to find the best deals and needed to be up to date with each country’s entry requirements.

“Pre-Covid you were looking at an average booking window of 90-120 days for leisure travel, so people could secure the best deal,” Mr Long said.

“Now nearly all travel is booked with less than seven days and that is a direct result of people being unsure about what extra requirements might be imposed by governments in Australia and also around the world. It’s a global issue.”

Encouragingly for travel agents, 16 per cent of bookings in recent months had come from new customers, who recognised the need for professional help to tackle travel in the pandemic.

Mr Long said that was higher than what it was pre-Covid, and was likely to grow further.

A survey of AFTA members also revealed the UK and New Zealand were at the top of travellers’ wishlists, followed by the US, Fiji, Singapore and Japan.

The big change was the slump in demand for Bali, previously Australians’ number one holiday destination.

“It’s now eighth on the list and I think that demonstrates that people are looking for destinations that have a really good health system, a strong level of sanitation and good connectivity in so far as airlines will continue to travel there if something goes wrong,” Mr Long said.

Another change travel agents were seeing was in the key concerns of travellers, which had shifted from itinerary and connections, to vaccination certificates, quarantine and the use of travel credits.

Passport renewals also rated in the top six, whereas travellers were not even bothering to ask about cruise options at their destination.

“All the concerns are Covid-19 issues that agents have had to skill up and answer. They just didn’t exist 22 months ago,” said Mr Long.

On the domestic travel front, Webjet bookings ranked Melbourne as the most popular destination ahead of Brisbane and Sydney. The Gold Coast was fourth, followed by Adelaide and Cairns with Canberra, Townsville, the Sunshine Coast and Byron Bay rounding out the top 10.

Domestic travel bookings continued to outstrip international at Flight Centre, which reported plenty of searches for online holidays but few payments to secure flights and accommodation.

Sales activity in the week to January 18 saw an 8.8 per cent increase in bookings for domestic trips, with strong demand for flights between Sydney or Melbourne and the Gold Coast.

London and Delhi remain the most booked overseas destinations despite a surge in online searches for Bali.

Originally published as Covid-19’s new shock for embattled travel industry