-
Insight – Maintaining momentum for domestic tourism
28 September 2022
If the pandemic has had a silver lining, it is that it has encouraged Australians to rediscover the wonders of our own country.
A strong recovery in domestic tourism is underway. Overnight domestic visitor spend between April and June 2022 was 29% higher than the corresponding pre-pandemic quarter (Source: Tourism Research Australia, National Visitor Survey, June quarter 2022).
Regional Australia has seen major benefits from this desire to holiday locally. Comparing the June quarter 2022 with the same period in 2019, there were:
- 112,000 extra trips to the Snowy Mountains
- 58,000 extra trips to the Daintree rainforest, Port Douglas, Mossman and Cape Tribulation area
- 48,000 extra trips to Margaret River
- 22,000 extra trips to the Barossa Wine Region
- 66,000 extra trips to the Mornington Peninsula.
As overseas travel becomes easier, how can the tourism sector continue attracting homegrown travellers?
Encouraging a ‘tourist mindset’
Travelling overseas involves more planning, time, greater commitment and greater expense. Differences in language, currency and culture remove the experience from the ‘everyday’. Australian travellers overseas are more likely to justify their spending on shopping, dining out and experiences such as tours.
Australians may perceive their own country to be less interesting because it is familiar. Or they may think they will have plenty of time to discover Australia ‘later’.
In short, they do not have the same ‘tourist mindset’ as when travelling overseas.
Austrade has been working with the Behavioural Economics Team of Australia, which advises there are several ways to encourage a tourist mindset among homegrown travellers.
Hop on hot trends
Several trends are evident among today’s travellers. These include:
- cultural tourism
- wellness tourism
- nature tourism
About 60% of Australian millennials say they want to experience authentic culture when they travel (Source: Austrade, Opportunities for the visitor economy, June 2021). Australia is home to one of the world’s oldest continuous cultures, yet domestic visitors may not be aware of the variety of experiences available.
Promoting First Nations experiences more strongly may help tap this potential market.
There are also opportunities for visitors to engage with local people to gain first-hand experience of activities like jackerooing, fishing or oyster farming.
Coming out of the lockdowns and restrictions of the pandemic, people may be more likely to treat themselves to a wellness break. Providing easy to book add-ons for wellness tourism may encourage domestic travellers to indulge in a spa visit or health retreat.
Further information here
-
0 Replies
Sorry, there were no replies found.
Log in to reply.