Holiday splurge to follow extended travel drought

Money is proving to be no object for holidaymakers after almost two-years of saving on travel.

Domestic holidaymakers are seeking to splash out on flash hotels and premium airline seats after almost two-years of limited opportunity to travel.

After almost two years with limited opportunity to travel, Australians are splurging their savings on a holiday with all the trimmings, from business class airline seats to fancy restaurants.

Federal Tourism Minister Dan Tehan noted the trend in his address to a national aviation conference last week, pointing out that increased spending on domestic travel was helping tourism operators weather the lack of international visitors.

Data for April 2021 showed spending on domestic holidays was up $500m or 7 per cent on 2019 levels, with similarly strong results in May.

Tourism Research Australia figures also revealed in the year to June 2021, spending on accommodation leapt 17 per cent compared to the year to June 2019.

Other areas where holidaymakers were splashing out included hire cars, groceries for self-catering, alcohol and restaurants.

Fast-forward to September when lockdowns and border closures ravaged most domestic travel, average expenditure per person was still higher than 12 months earlier, at $758 a trip compared to $600.

Day-trippers were also loosening the purse strings, with the average spend per person climbing from $97 a person in September 2020, to $112 this year.

Mr Tehan said all the signs were there for a very strong rebound in domestic tourism, a sentiment backed by travel industry surveys.

Luxury Escapes’ annual Travel Trends research showed 62 per cent of 1200 respondents had been saving for travel since Covid began; more than a third planned to spend more on a holiday than they normally would. Whereas 11 per cent of customers splashed out more than $10,000 on a domestic holiday in 2019, 32 per cent indicated they expected to spend above that on their next at-home adventure.

In addition to upgrading to flasher rooms or hotels, respondents were ready to flex the credit card on massages and day spa treatments while travelling, along with fancy restaurants and premium airline seats.

Luxury Escapes chief executive Adam Schwab said it was clear travel was back. “There haven’t been many good things from the pandemic but if there’s one small silver lining, we now appreciate travel in a completely different light,” he said. “Not being able to see the world for two years has made us all appreciate just how important travel is.”

Research by international travel booking site Expedia Group reported similar findings from Australian customers, with 54 per cent planning to spend more than they did pre-pandemic. “(Some) 58 per cent of Australians will travel locally because of the effects of Covid on local communities and 42 per cent will shop at and visit locally owned businesses and restaurants,” said Expedia Group executive Drew Bowering.