AUSTRALIANS – TRAVEL

Australians’ overseas travel wanderlust continues to grow despite low levels of consumer confidence

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 2-Apr-25

The latest Roy Morgan data shows that 23% of Australians plan to travel overseas in the next 12 months, up from 16% in October 2022 when final pandemic-era restrictions on travel were lifted. Travel intentions have bounced back since October 2022, despite low levels of consumer confidence. Australians embarked on 11.5 million overseas trips during the 2024 calendar year, rebounding to above 2019 pre-pandemic levels. Looking month-on-month, in January 2024, the number of trips were back to 2019 levels and by January 2025 trips were up 11% on January 2024. It is important to note that the growth in trips was largely driven by population growth, so on a ‘per capita basis’ overseas travel has not quite returned to pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, 57% of Australians are planning a domestic trip in the next 12 months (up from 52% a year ago).

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Melbourne retains top spot as preferred holiday destination as Sydney overtakes Gold Coast for second place

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Aug-23

Research from Roy Morgan shows that more than 14.6 million Australians aged 14+ (67.7%) would like to spend at least one night in the next two years at a domestic holiday destination. Melbourne has retained top spot as the preferred holiday destination, with 2,977,000 Australians aged 14+ expressing a preference to stay at least one night in the Victorian capital on a trip in the next two years; this is up more than 800,000 from two years ago, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sydney is now Australia’s second-most preferred destination, mentioned by 2,905,000 Australians (up more than 900,000 from two years ago). The Gold Coast, which soared to first place in popularity during the pandemic, has now dropped back to third position with 2,647,000 Australians mentioning travelling to the city in the next two years.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Melbourne regains top spot as preferred holiday destination from the Gold Coast after pandemic plunge

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 2-Aug-23

The latest research from Roy Morgan shows that 14.6 million Australians aged 14+ (68.0%) would like to spend at least one night in the next two years at a domestic holiday destination. Melbourne has regained top spot as the preferred holiday destination, with 2,797,000 Australians aged 14+ expressing a preference to stay at least one night in the Victorian capital on a trip in the next two years. The city was clearly the preferred holiday destination for Australians in the pre-pandemic period, and with the removal of the final mandatory isolation policies early in the December 2022 quarter, the city has moved back into top spot. Almost 2.3 million of those mentioning a trip to Melbourne are coming from interstate locations – a higher number of interstate visitors than any other destination – while a further 500,000 Victorians also said they would like to spend at least a night in their capital city in the next two years. The Gold Coast has retained second place, with 2,728,000 Australians mentioning travelling to the city in the next two years. Right behind in third is Sydney with 2,727,000 Australians now expressing a preference to travel to the harbour city in the next two years.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Home quarantine should be widespread once vaccination target is hit, PM says

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Original article by David Crowe, Rachel Clun
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 1-Sep-21

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is continuing to urge the states and territories to support the national plan for reopening the economy when the COVID-19 vaccination target has been reached. He contends that Australians who are returning from overseas should be allowed to quarantine at home rather than in a hotel once 70-80 per cent of eligible adults have been vaccinated. However, he has conceded that internal border closures are a matter for the states; Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan is maintaining a tough stance on border closures.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

PM: Christmas trips likely

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 25-Aug-21

Prime Minister Scott Morrison contends that Australians should be able to travel interstate to spend Christmas with family and friends once 70-80 per cent of the adult population has been fully vaccinated. Morrison has again urged the states and territories to back his government’s four-stage plan for reopening the economy, reiterating that lockdowns will do more harm than good when the vaccination target rate has been achieved. Meanwhile, employers’ groups have urged the federal government to relax the restrictions on travelling overseas for business purposes, arguing that people who have been vaccinated should be allowed to do so and quarantine at home upon their return.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Queensland and Victoria push to slash number of international arrivals in Australia

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Original article by Yara Murray-Atfield
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 30-Jun-21

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has called for a "massive reduction" in the number of international travellers who are allowed into Australia in the wake of the latest wave of COVID-19 lockdowns across the country. Palaszczuk adds that international travellers should be quarantined in dedicated facilities such as Howard Springs in the Northern Territory, rather than hotels. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews also supports a big reduction in overseas arrivals, contending that it is preferable to locking down entire cities or states if the coronavirus leaks from the hotel quarantine system. More than 35,000 Australians remain stranded overseas, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade.

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QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Vaccine passports risk a two-class country

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 4 : 21-May-21

Business leaders have questioned the merits of the federal government’s proposed ‘vaccine passport’ system for domestic travellers. It would allow fully vaccinated people to travel interstate and return without being subject to COVID-19 restrictions. Restaurant & Catering CEO Wes Lambert says it would be "very cumbersome" and create more red tape; he adds that it might also create two classes of Australians, based on their vaccination status. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and New South Wales counterpart Gladys Berejiklian both oppose the scheme. Meanwhile, five new COVID-19 cases have been reported in hotel quarantine nationwide in the last 24 hours.

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RESTAURANT AND CATERING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Queensland is the favoured pick for longer holidays during the pandemic with international borders closed

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 17-May-21

New data from Roy Morgan’s Holiday Travel Intention Leading Indicator Report shows that 5.68 million Australians (26.9% of those aged 14+) in the March quarter intend to take a holiday during the next 12 months. Of these travellers there were 5.24 million set on taking a domestic holiday and a further 340,000 planning an overseas holiday – although according to the Federal Budget the international borders are set to remain closed for holidaymakers until early next year. There were a small number of prospective travellers who couldn’t decide whether their holidays would be domestic or international. For those planning a holiday of at least three nights Queensland is now the top destination for 24.9% of travellers, just ahead of New South Wales (22.7%); Victoria (11.6%) and Western Australia (11.1%) are significantly further behind. Other holiday makers have opted for another domestic destination, an international destination (which will have to be reconsidered with borders set to remain closed), or do not yet have any particular destination in mind at all. In 2019 prior to the pandemic New South Wales had been the top domestic destination for holidays of at least three nights, chosen by 17.2% of travellers – just ahead of Queensland (16.4%) and Victoria (15.3%). These are the latest findings from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey, derived from comprehensive in-depth interviews with 1,000 Australians each week or over 50,000 each year.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Call for medevac-style repatriation flights for Australians with Covid from India

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Original article by Calla Wahlquist
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 17-May-21

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has defended the federal government’s policy on repatriating Australian citizens and permanent residents in India. The first repatriation flight arrived in Darwin on 15 May, with just 80 returned travellers aboard; they are now at the Howard Springs quarantine facility. Another 42 people who tested positive for COVID-19 and 30 close contacts were barred from the flight. Morrison says it does not make sense to import COVID-19 into Australia by allowing people who have tested positive to board repatriation flights. However, epidemiologist Catherine Bennett contends that vulnerable Australians abroad who have the coronavirus should be treated as medical evacuees rather than returned travellers. Some of the people who were barred from the flight have since tested negative.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, DEAKIN UNIVERSITY

Revolving door – Thousands cleared to jet in and out of Australia multiple times during pandemic

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Original article by Tom Minear, Miles Proust
Herald Sun – Page: 1 & 6 : 13-May-21

The Budget papers show that the federal government does not expect the majority of Australians to be able to travel overseas until at least mid-2022. However, Australian Border Force data shows that 134,758 citizens and permanent residents have received exemptions to travel overseas since the pandemic began. This includes 37,456 people who received a travel exemption on compassionate or humanitarian grounds, while 13,762 were allowed to leave Australia and return on multiple occasions. An ABF spokeswoman says the latter includes Australian Defence Force members and airline staff. Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews says the federal government will review the exemptions process.

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AUSTRALIAN BORDER FORCE, AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS