Sunshine state of mind: Sydney may have reigned supreme as the top experience destination for Spring/Summer, however, Queensland had the most entries with Cairns, Surfer’s Paradise and Coomera all ranking highly.
Travellers taking to the waves: Australia saw an inbound tourism boom, with soaring demand from China, Taiwan and Korea. International travellers flocked to experiences like Scenic & Dining Cruises (+5494%), Whale & Dolphin Watching (+88%), and Reef & Island Cruises (+148%), making waves in the industry.
Short-stays over long vacays: Australians recharged with more mini-breaks over Spring/Summer with Sightseeing Tour Getaways (+675%), Country Getaways (+53%) and Beach Getaways (+55%) all surging in popularity over longer vacations.
Culture calls: Aussies are embracing the arts, with bookings for Art Gallery & Museum experiences up by 30.1% YOY - and they are putting brush to canvas too with Art & Crafts Classes experiencing a 101.4% increase.
Wild weather wreaks havoc: Queensland felt and continues to feel the effects of extreme weather - with visitor numbers in Spring/Summer heavily skewed by tourism recovery measures, which is likely to continue for months to come. Bright spots included Ipswich Hinterland and Rocklea - Acacia Ridge which grew by +13% and +28.3% respectively.
Quality over quantity: While consumers are continuing to be mindful of their purchasing decisions, resulting in a slight dip in booking volume, they’re continuing to adopt a ‘quality over quantity’ mindset, with average order value increasing for RedBalloon and Adrenaline as Aussies spend more overall on experiences.
Sports shifting tourism into high gear: Major sporting events like the NRL Grand Final and Bathurst 1000 are driving sport-based travel experiences. V8-related purchases accelerated by 32% YOY and Formula One’s Melbourne Grand Prix saw inner-city bookings around the time of the race surge by +67% last year, with the trend expected to grow in the coming year.
