Australian holiday-makers spend big over Christmas and New Year: NAB
Australians have spent big over the most recent holiday period with NAB reporting a 700 per cent uplift in spending in one South Australian town.
Aussie holiday-makers have delivered a financial windfall to thousands of local businesses across the country’s booming tourism hotspots throughout the Christmas and New Year period with spending up by more than 700 per cent in some instances.
Accommodation, restaurants, bars, cafes and service stations saw the biggest spending increases as Australians took the opportunity to hit the road, head away for a holiday, camp out and dine out despite cost of living pressures.
New NAB merchant terminal data reveals an average 130 per cent jump in spending across key tourism sectors in some of Australia’s busiest holiday hotspots over the last fortnight compared to normal.
NAB business direct and small business executive Krissie Jones said the summer tourism spending injection was providing a welcome boost for local businesses across the country.
“It is exciting to see some large increases in spending that has contributed to a big uplift in tourism spend over the Christmas holiday period and goes to benefiting regional towns across the country,” she said.
“We know many businesses in holiday hotspots count on the peak summer period to drive much of their annual turnover, and the boost in trade helps them hire more local casual staff.”
The data was compiled from NAB merchant terminal data from December 21 to January 5 and is compared to a normal period of trade (May 2024), excluding Christmas Day.
It observed accommodation including hotels, motels and caravan parks saw a huge jump in spending with the highest increases in Robe, South Australia, up by 714 per cent. Spending in Lakes Entrance on Victoria’s Gippsland coast jumped by 478 per cent and in Batemans Bay in NSW by 242 per cent.
Margaret River in WA, Noosa Heads, Lorne and Swansea in Tasmania all saw accommodation spending rise by more than 100 per cent.
Restaurants and bars experienced a spike in spending with Jervis Bay up 300 per cent, which also saw a 239 per cent jump in purchases made at candy stores, while Rye on the Mornington Peninsula and Merimbula on NSW’s South Coast all saw spending increase by 200 per cent.
Nerida Baker, who operates Beach Grill and Salt Bar at Ballina Byron Gateway Airport, said the Christmas and New Year period is the busiest period of the year and requires additional hiring of staff, including students on holidays, to meet the demand.
“We saw so much activity from Schoolies this year and then it just seemed to stay busy through to Christmas. This year it felt like everyone was relaxed leading into the end of the year,” she said.
“We always plan for this busy period; we streamline procedures and hire more staff, especially casuals and juniors who might be on school or uni holidays, and my husband Jake and I dive back in to help the team.
Australians embraced a summer road trip with spending jumping at service stations in Busselton and Victor Harbor up by 572 per cent and 536 per cent respectively, while St Helens in Tasmania and Kingscote in South Australia also saw strong increases.
Other notable spending increases include alcohol stores, which lifted by 193 per cent in Byron Bay and 157 per cent in Broadbeach on the Gold Coast, while golf courses in Merimbula on the South Coast rose by 87 per cent. Broadbeach also saw a 23 per cent increase in spending at bakeries.
Summer was the busiest time of year for G’day Group, which operates 280 holiday parks across Australia, including Discovery Parks and G’day Parks. Total nights sold over the December-January holiday period are expected to be up 5 per cent and 20 per cent from 2022.
G’day Group chief executive Grant Wilckens told The Australian last month cost of living challenges were forcing people to holiday closer to home, with strong demand for destinations within a two-to-three hour drive of major capital cities.
“Aussies are trading down due to inflationary pressures, but this has benefited our business and the industry, as we have a huge diversity of products available catering to a wide variety of budgets and traveller demographics,” he said.
KPMG analysis published in The Australian last month showed the road-trip comeback during the pandemic is here to stay, with domestic trips continuing to prove a popular substitute for international travel.
Ms Jones said, while Australians were continuing to spend money on overseas travel, the weaker dollar meant many were looking to stay local and holiday at affordable hotspots.
“The data shows the continued popularity of holidaying at home as Australians make thoughtful spending decisions to manage the higher cost of living and avoid a recent dip in overseas exchange rates,” she said.
“I was down on the Mornington Peninsula and can first-hand guarantee that there were massive cues for ice creams. It was hard to get into a restaurant, hard to get a car park.”
Originally published as Australian holiday-makers spend big over Christmas and New Year: NAB
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