Domestic travel recovery continues
Tourism report reveals spending up and travel nearly back at pre-pandemic levels, but some destinations are faring better than others…Australia’s domestic travel sector is continuing to climb its way out of the pandemic doldrums, with a recent report from Tourism Research Australia indicating we spent significantly more on travel over the quarter ending September 2022 than in September quarter in 2019, with the number of trips at or near where they were before COVID struck.
According to TRA’s National Visitor Survey Results September Quarter 2022, which focuses only on domestic travel, the overnight spend for the quarter was up 33 per cent on the corresponding 2019 quarter, at $27.8 billion. The total number of nights away was the same, at 103.2 million, while the number of overnight trips was down just 2%, at 27.6 million.
Tourism Research Australia falls under the banner of the Federal Government’s Australian Trade and Investment Commission, and bases the annual survey on around 120,000 interviews of Australians aged over 15.
The survey also found that domestic holiday travel was up 57% on pre-pandemic levels, while visiting friends and relatives was up by 23% and business travel was up by a more modest 3%.
The overnight spend was also up for every state and territory bar the ACT for the year ending September 2022, despite the period encompassing more COVID-related lockdowns and travel restrictions. However, the number of overnight trips was down across the board.
Queensland led the way for overnight spending across the year, the $24.5 billion spent in the Sunshine State over the period equating with a jump of 29%.
The biggest drop in overnight trips over the year was Victoria – down 18% – which is not surprising given the extensive lockdowns endured by the southern state.
It was Queensland that also lay claim to the region that experienced the strongest growth in trips for the year ending September 2022: the Whitsundays, where the number of trips jumped by 43%.
The top 10 destinations by growth were as follows:
Top 10 tourism regions (by growth, year ending Sep 2022 compared to year ending Sep 2019)
1. Whitsunday, Qld (923,000 trips, +43%)
2. Clare Valley, SA (215,000 trips, +26%)
3. Katherine/Daly Waters, NT (327,000 trips, +25%)
4. Snowy Mountains, NSW (1.2 million trips, +20%)
5. Central Highlands, Vic (529,000 trips, +20%)
6. Coral Coast, WA (1.2 million trips, +15%)
7. Yorke Peninsula, SA (590,000 trips, +14%)
8. Mackay, Qld (1.2 million trips, +13%)
9. Tropical North Queensland, Qld (2.4 million trips, +10%)
10. Gippsland, Vic (1.5 million trips, +8%)
Click here to view the Tourism Research Australia report.
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