Covid, cost-of-living pressures aren’t contagious, wanderlust is the only thing biting in winter
Why are Australians still spending an increasing amount of money on travel, despite the rising cost of living? Why not? says Gen Z.
Catch flights, not feelings. That’s the sentiment of Australians this winter. Especially if those feelings are about the impending economic downturn.
Cost of living crisis? More like the Covid Renaissance.
You‘re not imagining it. Australians are fleeing the cold and heading overseas for a European summer in record numbers after being denied the chance for several years due to the pandemic.
YOLO (You Only Live Once) and FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) are more contagious than Covid in 2023.
Despite soaring interest rates, inflation despite a recent plateau remains stubbornly high, soaring borrowing costs and rents, not to mention exorbitant airfares – quashing wanderlust is going as well as the Reserve Bank’s efforts to cool our boiling economy.
Flights are packed, social media is awash with “Euro fashion hauls” and sun-drenched snaps from postcard perfect locations such as Santorini, #eurosummer2023 has so far chalked up 59 million views and videos on TikTok alone.
After a year clear of lockdowns and travel restrictions, Australians are spending an increasing amount of money on travel. New research from Flight Centre shows 90 per cent of Australian travellers intend to travel internationally within the next year.
Close to 85 per cent of jet setters intend to spend the same or more than they did pre-Covid on their trips and holidays, with 15 per cent expected to spend significantly more.
Blame the hugely popular The White Lotus or a backlog of weddings, parties and anything really being interrupted by the pandemic, Europe is back. Especially London thanks to the combination of King Charles’s coronation hangover, the Ashes tour and Wimbledon, so too is southern Italy which is where most of Sydney’s glamorous eastern suburbs social set are seeking the sun and saying vows, including Ingham chicken heir Johnny Ingham who wed influencer Rey Vakili at the weekend (the couple even entered their wedding party to The White Lotus theme).
While some are just soaking up the sun or making the most of their “babymoons” like Louise O’Neil and her husband, Addenbrooke’s Jake O’Neil, in Corfu.
Travel bookings to European destinations between June and August are up 94 per cent in comparison to the same dates last year, according to Flight Centre.
Australians are more determined to pay through the nose for a boarding pass after being bored at home for three years.
Flight Centre’s global managing director Andrew Stark says they are yet to see the cost-of-living crunch affect the industry.
Instead of being frugal, we’re flying away to London, Paris, Athens, Rome and Amsterdam and travelling for longer and visiting more destinations, including Dublin, Milan, Manchester, Frankfurt and Barcelona.
“Although we know economically things are tougher for many, especially our family customers, from what we‘re seeing, people still seem determined to keep travel high on their to-do lists,” Mr Stark said.
“Aussie customers also seem determined to not let cost-of-living pressures spoil their holiday plans. We have also seen basket sizes increasing as customers revert to seasonal holiday periods, booking further ahead of time.
“In the last month, bookings to overseas destinations such as the UK, Italy, Greece, France, Fiji and Bali have remained strong.”
Publicist Pim Pattanasuk, 30, will be touring all of the trending tourist destinations with additional stops being worked into her itinerary for a her best friend’s wedding and another friend’s birthday. Before exploring Italy with her fiance for two weeks of “solo, spontaneous travel”, the couple from Perth will attend the nuptials in Positano, hen’s events in Sicily, a stag do in Puglia and the 30th in Taormina in early August. A quick whistle stop tour of London to the West End, some sun bathing in Portugal then the F1 in Amsterdam will round out their close to six week holiday which has cost about $30,000 before take off.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime trip. We’ve both saved but we have also learned to live in the moment. Me especially. I’m usually a planner but sometimes you just have to go with it. Three years ago I wouldn’t have imagined I’d be going on a trip like this but Covid taught us to appreciate our freedoms. It taught us we could go into a lockdown at anytime,” Ms Pattanasuk said.
The small business owner said cost of living was on her “radar” but hasn’t seen the disastrous impacts Treasurer Jim Chalmers “keeps talking about”. Neither have her Media Circus Creative clients. Her speciality is hospitality and Perth’s food and party scene is burgeoning – even in the depths of winter.
“If your service is good, if your product is good – you’ll book out and sell out. I’m staging themed set dinners, mid week, at bars and restaurants which are filled up within in hours. The demand is there, people want to get out and live,” she said.
Which is what Ms Pattanasuk intends to do, “We have nothing tying us down. I’ve already done the singles tour of Spain and Greek Island hopping, I’m looking forward to making great memories with my close friends this time around.”
Youth, credit cards and frequent flyer points it seems are no longer wasted on the young.
Crystal Wu, 25, is heading to Europe for a five-week odyssey with her boyfriend.
The pair are avoiding the hot spots like Italy and are instead preparing to hike the Albania Alps, and explore Turkey, Israel and Egypt.
“We looking at our Instagram Stories at night and laugh and say ‘Of course such and such is in Mykonos’, we’re keen to see something new,” Ms Wu said.
The journalist has saved for her first “big trip” since the pandemic but said flights ate into her budget.
“I’ve already spent about $20,000 for two of us just on flights and accommodation. We’re flying economy on Scoot to Europe which was about $2000 return, but some legs over there, like Athens to Istanbul cost about $400 one way and it’s only a 90-minute flight,” Ms Wu said.
Expensive flights is something Mr Stark says looms large in the travel industry, which could affect Australia’s official holiday season at Christmas. At a time when interest rates may have also jumped another five times should inflation not cool its jets by December.
“We are hoping to see more airline seats back in the market, which should drive down airfares, something we continue to advocate for. We will see more and more deals back in the market, should capacity outweigh demand. Which we know is great for Aussies, who view travel as an item of self-reward that we believe they deserve even more when times are challenging.”
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