Australians intend to keep travelling despite cost of living

Read Ground Truth’s State of the Nation travel report here ⬇

In partnership with our client July Luggage — and with the generous assistance of Vibrant Insights and Glow Feed — we have just released a report exploring the travel intentions of Australians amid the cost-of-living crisis. The survey engaged a nationally representative sample of over 1000 Australians in mid-August.

The results indicate that – while Australians are, in large numbers, altering their plans because of financial concerns – most don’t intend to stop holidaying altogether over the next year.

But the cost-of-living is biting. 73% of Australians cite cost-related factors as the single biggest impediment to travel. 35% of those interviewed had postponed a trip in the last 12 months due to financial pressures. A further 23% had made significant changes to a holiday so it was more affordable while 12% had outright cancelled scheduled holidays altogether.

But many are going to great lengths to make their holidays happen, sacrificing everyday goods for the pleasures of getting away. And some surprising compromises are on the table – for instance: 3 in 4 (77%) will or have given up food delivery services and eating out; 2 in 3 (67%) say they would give up alcohol (this number raises to 76% for 18-24’s, further evidence of the alcohol-free movement among the young); and 1 in 2 have or would cancel subscriptions to streaming services. In total, 81% of those surveyed say they will need to find a way to make their next holiday more affordable, whether by making changes to the plan itself or to their run-of-the-mill living expenses.

81% of those surveyed say they will need to find a way to make their next holiday more affordable

Interestingly, for each of the above lifestyle adjustments, women are significantly more likely to engage in these abstentions than men. With the available data, we can only speculate on the reasons for this. An average lower personal income, or women being more likely to take charge of holiday planning in the household, are possible explanations.

Gender aside, is all this evidence that demand for travel is to some degree ‘inelastic’? Is travel, in a sense, an ‘essential good’ that Australians can’t bear to live without? To say ‘Australians love to travel’ is almost a cliché, but why do we value travel so much? For marketers looking for unique ways to communicate their travel offers, delving into deeper questions about why we travel is likely to be helpful.

In the Ground Truth survey, the three motivations for travelling people most identified with were: to spend quality time with friends or family; to get away from all the stresses at home; and to have new experiences. However, more women than men overall and almost 1 in 2 of all people aged 45-64 “just want to get away from the stresses of home”, while those 65 of and up of any gender were much more likely to see experiencing “anything new” as the goal of travel. People in their 20s and 30s were most likely to value the chance to connect with friends or family.

Interestingly, none of these explanations of why we go on holiday have much to do with the destination. We could connect with loved ones, be free of the stresses of home, and experience anything new anywhere. Patrick Leigh Fermor might have been speaking for Australians now when he said: “Must go, don’t know where”.

But whatever their reasons, Australians are set to continue to travel and, for the present, a great deal of that will be taking place inter- and intra-state so long as flight prices remain high. In fact, 70% of those surveyed agreed that “the cost of travel is too high to consider going overseas right now.”

70% of those surveyed agreed that “the cost of travel is too high to consider going overseas right now”

So where might cash-strapped Australians look to travel domestically? According to the survey, the “most underrated” destination in Australia is Hobart, Tasmania. (Congratulations Hobart!) Hobart is followed closely by two South Australia destinations: Adelaide and Kangaroo Island. The most overrated? Sydney, The Gold Coast, Melbourne and Brisbane – all metropolises.

Australians have voted Hobart, Tasmania, the country’s most underrated travel destination.

Finally, while cost-of-living pressures force Australians to stay closer to home, there is further encouraging news for domestic tourism operators. When asked what actions Australians might take to make their next holiday more affordable, the single biggest “compromise” was to “travel out of season” (54%) for taking advantage of cheaper hotel and flight rates. For seasonal destinations that struggle to maintain year-round occupancy rates, what an opportunity!