Melbourne has emerged as Aussie tourists’ top domestic destination as the nation’s travel sector bounces back from its pandemic doldrums.
Data from the Tourism and Transport Forum show the southern capital was the country’s top location for travel spending in October, ahead of Sydney and Brisbane.
The figures also show that Australian tourists are spending more domestically than before COVID-19 restrictions shut down the travel market.
Spending in the local industry was worth $10.1 billion in October, up 9 per cent on the same month in 2019.
The largest share of the spending was from Australians travelling within their own state.
While Melbourne was the top domestic tourism destination for the month, Queensland at $2.7 billion received the highest overall spending, followed by NSW with $2.5 billion and Victoria with $2.2 billion.
The forum predicted domestic tourism spending would be worth $9.3 billion in November, also up nine per cent on pre-pandemic levels.
Tourism forum chief executive Margy Osmond said Victoria had done a great job in attracting tourists with events, but the numbers might also have been boosted by people visiting friends and family after Melbourne’s long COVID lockdowns.
The domestic holiday trend is expected to continue over the summer holidays.
Where are Aussie holidaying in 2023?
Tis’ the season for summer summer getaways.
With Australians looking to spend some quality time at the beach, Airbnb data has revealed the top 10 most-searched beach locations in Australia, which include:
And while beach holidays are appealing to many over the summer period, there are also plenty of regional and inland holiday options.
According to Intrepid travel’s 2022 Index, Australia’s are travelling locally like never before.
For the first time in the Index’s history, Australia has taken out the number one ranking, jumping up five spots since 2019. With 63 per cent of Australians planning to travel domestically in the next 12 months, this trend looks set to continue.
Top destinations Australians intend to visit in the next twelve months
- Queensland
- New South Wales
- Victoria
- Western Australia
- South Australia
- Tasmania
- Northern Territory
- Australian Capital Territory
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