Australia is a nation of travellers. That part is pretty hard to deny.Whether we're exploring our own backyard or spending a few years abroad, we itch to get away to see more. But where are we all going? What type of accommodation do we prefer to stay in? Is solo travel really a thing? And what's stopping some of us from getting out more?We dig deep to discover the average Aussie's travel habits. Look familiar, much?
Top 10 domestic destinations
- North Coast (NSW)
- Melbourne (VIC)
- Sydney (NSW)
- South Coast (NSW)
- Gold Coast (QLD)
- Sunshine Coast (QLD)
- Brisbane (QLD)
- Australia's South West (WA)
- Hunter Region (NSW)
- Western Victoria (VIC)
Source: Tourism Research Australia, year ending December 2017
How much do we pay to fly there?
Here's what the average Aussie pays to travel from their Australian city to the 10 most popular domestic locations.
| Byron Bay | Ballina Byron Gateway (BNK) | $478 |
| Melbourne | Melbourne Tullamarine (MEL) | $555 |
| Sydney | Sydney (SYD) | $484 |
| South Coast (Merimbula) | Merimbula (MIM) | $653 |
| Gold Coast | Gold Coast (OOL) | $599 |
| Sunshine Coast | Sunshine Coast (MCY) | $689 |
| Brisbane | Brisbane (BNE) | $574 |
| Perth | Perth (PER) | $875 |
| Hunter Valley (Newcastle) | Newcastle Williamtown (NTL) | $442 |
| Western VIC | Melbourne Tullamarine (MEL) | $555 |
Source: Skyscanner based on return flights booked from Australia between October 2017 and September 2018 for an adult, flying economy.
The cheapest departure airports to get there
Depending on where you live, you'll find that some destinations are notoriously cheaper for you to get to than others. This is generally based on distance as well as the frequency of flights along that route.
Of the top 10 domestic destinations, these are the cheapest airports to depart from and how much Australians are paying for a return flight, on average.
| Byron Bay | SYD | $401 |
| Melbourne | HBA | $321 |
| Sydney | OOL | $301 |
| South Coast (Merimbula) | SYD | $617 |
| Gold Coast | SYD | $480 |
| Sunshine Coast | SYD | $573 |
| Brisbane | SYD | $401 |
| Perth | ADL | $746 |
| Hunter Valley (Newcastle) | NTL | $331 |
| Western VIC | HBA | $321 |
- New Zealand
- Indonesia
- USA
- UK
- Thailand
- China
- Fiji
- Singapore
- Malaysia
- India
Source: ABS from Aug 2008 - Aug 2018
How much are we paying to fly there?
The average cost of flights booked from Australia to the 10 most popular international destinations.
| China | $1,298 |
| Fiji | $1,886 |
| India | $2,007 |
| Indonesia | $1,295 |
| Malaysia | $1,294 |
| New Zealand | $1,074 |
| Singapore | $1,381 |
| Thailand | $1,602 |
| United Kingdom | $2,908 |
| United States | $2,558 |
Source: Skyscanner based on return flights booked from Australia between October 2017 and September 2018 for an adult, flying economy.
The cheapest departure airports to get there
Thinking of hitting up one of the top 10 international destinations but need to stick to a budget? These are the cheapest airports to depart from and how much on average travellers are paying to get there.
| Destinations | Cheapest departure airport | Average return airfare (AUD) |
|---|
| China | SYD | $1,249 |
| Fiji | CNS | $1,565 |
| India | MEL | $1,905 |
| Indonesia | CNS | $846 |
| Malaysia | PER | $1,097 |
| New Zealand | OOL | $788 |
| Singapore | OOL | $910 |
| Thailand | OOL | $1,273 |
| United Kingdom | OOL | $2,486 |
| United States | SYD | $2,462 |
Source: Skyscanner based on return flights booked by Australians between October 2017 and September 2018 for an adult, flying economy.
Popular destinations swarm with Australians but we're a nation that searches for more. So which cities have been growing in interest for us?
- Osaka
- Ho Chi Minh City
- Hanoi
- Kyoto
- Tokyo
- Manila
- Ubud
- Christchurch
- Florence
- Athens
Source: Booking.com
We're dreamers
- Almost 2 in 3 Australian workers (64%) browse and book holidays on the boss's time.
- We spend an average of 57 minutes a week planning holidays at work.
- As a nation, that's 7.6 million hours spent every week hunting for cheap flights and hotels.
- And $14.6 billion annually in lost productivity for businesses.
Source: finder.com.au
Over a third of Aussies (36%) don't enjoy flying (but do because they have to) and 3% have never been on a plane. But there are a few things that do make us happy about getting onto a plane:
| Looking out the window | 17% |
| Watching movies/TV/entertainment | 11% |
| Being disconnected | 7% |
| Free alcohol | 5% |
| Earning frequent flyer points | 4% |
| Business lounge/facilities | 3% |
| Plane food | 3% |
| Inflight duty-free shopping | 2% |
Source: finder.com.au
Did you know: Four in five people fear flying.
That's a big number. So what's the cause?
- 45% of jetsetters fear terrorist attacks on planes
Top flying frustrations
Not everyone has a cheery travel experience and here's what we have the biggest gripes about.
| Australians' top flying frustrations |
|---|
| Kicking the back of your seat | 55% |
| Bad body odour | 54% |
| Crying babies/children being loud | 38% |
| Reclining on a short flight or during meal time | 30% |
| Cough/sneeze without their hands in front of their mouths | 25% |
| Too much hand luggage/luggage space hoarders | 22% |
| Armrest hogging | 21% |
| People being rude to air host/hostess | 21% |
| Bad breath | 20% |
| Talking loudly | 20% |
| Smelly feet | 19% |
| Snoring | 17% |
| Too much perfume/cologne | 16% |
| Queue jumpers | 14% |
| People putting feet on your hand rest | 14% |
| People who get out of their seat often | 9% |
| People who keep chatting to me | 9% |
| Source: finder.com.au | |
Australians aren't luxury travellers but we don't scrimp either, opting for hotels and motels over resorts and hostels.
Top domestic accommodation types booked by Australians
- Hotel
- Motel
- ApartHotel
- Resort
- Hostel
- Holiday Park
- Apartment
- Bed and Breakfast
- Lodge
- Holiday Home
Source: Booking.com
- July is the most popular time for us to travel.
- We're a nation of procrastinators, with most bookings occuring 0–5 days before check-in.
- The majority of our stays last for 1–5 days.
- We tend to stay in 4-star hotels and pay an average of $88 per night.
Source: HotelsCombined based on data over the last 3 years (2016-2018)
Solo travel is big with 24% of Aussies having actually travelled overseas alone.
Breaking this down:
- 22% of women have taken solo trips.
- While 26% of men have travelled solo.
- 61% of Australian women believe it's safe to travel solo overseas.
- But 31% admit they're afraid to travel alone.
- On the flipside, only 15% of men admit they're afraid to travel solo.
BYO babysitting. It's a thing and more than one third of parents admit to bringing a family member on holidays to help look after the kids.
- 14% of Aussies have invited a family member on holidays more than once.
- 5% do it all the time.
- A further 17% haven't brought a family member along, but admit they've thought about doing it.
Source: finder.com.au
Almost one in three Aussie travellers runs into some kind of trouble overseas. The top five circumstances, based on travel insurance claims are:
- Lost, stolen or damaged goods (7.0%)
- Medical illness (6.0%)
- Cancelled flights/accomodation (3.8%)
- Flight delay (3.5%)
- Injury (2.9%)
- 1,701 Australian travellers were hospitalised from 2016–2017.
- A further 1,615 died overseas.
That's one Australian who is hospitalised or dies overseas every 2.5 hours
New Caledonia came out as the most dangerous destination for Australian travellers with 462 hospitalisations per 100,000 travellers. Other countries where danger is our middle name are:
| Thailand | 530,500 | 195 | 203 | 37 | 38 |
| Philippines | 215,700 | N/A | 126 | N/A | 58 |
| Indonesia | 1,188,900 | 155 | 107 | 13 | 9 |
| USA | 1,067,100 | 117 | 99 | 11 | 9 |
| New Caledonia | 22,300 | 103 | N/A | 462 | N/A |
| Vietnam | 264,000 | 71 | 87 | 27 | 33 |
Source: finder.com.au, dfat.gov.au
Cruising is booming and it's not just for baby boomers to enjoy either, with ships now offering parties for millennials and kids' clubs for families. But we're still quite hesitant to hit the high seas. Here are our biggest fears:
| 1 | Getting food poisoning or gastro | 37% |
| 2 | Big storms | 34% |
| 3 | Seasickness | 33% |
| 4 | Getting sick or injured and having to be airlifted to hospital | 22% |
| 5 | The ship sinking/running ashore | 22% |
| 6 | Not being able to get off the boat | 16% |
| 7 | Pirates | 15% |
| 8 | Lost/stolen luggage | 12% |
| 9 | Hitting an iceberg | 12% |
| 10 | Falling overboard | 11% |
| 11 | The cruise leaving without me | 8% |
Source: finder.com.au
