Trip.com Report Reveals Off-Season Travel Demand Between Australia and Southeast Asia
Trip.com releases new findings about what off-season travel destinations are in high demand for both Australian and Southeast Asian travelers.
At Vacationer, we often talk about LGBTQ+ American and UK travelers and related seasonal travel trends, but we thought it would be interesting to share Trip.com’s most recent report related to travelers Down Under and the Southeast since border restrictions due to COVID have been lifted or slightly revised.
While July to September is considered a slow travel season for both Australia and Southeast Asian countries, Trip.com data shows that more people from these two regions are traveling during this season. For Southeast Asian consumers based in tropical countries, summer is the perfect time to visit a cooler destination like Australia and vice versa. For Australian travelers, short-haul travel to Southeast Asia remains popular, especially after travel restrictions were gradually eased in the area this year.
In order to fully grasp the travel trends in the Asian Pacific (APAC) region and Australia, Trip.com took an in-depth look at bookings data during June and July for these two key areas, with some intriguing insights discovered along the way.
Asian Travel to Australia is on the Rise with UK Long-Haul Trips Increasing
Unsurprisingly, trips to Australia are most popular among travelers from New Zealand, but what is more interesting is the number of travelers heading to Australia from Asia. In fact, flight bookings from Southeast Asia to Australia increased 35% between June and July, compared to Trip.com booking data from April and May. As Australia and New Zealand recently removed many of the travel restrictions that have been in place during the pandemic, this has led to a spike in interest from Asian travelers.
In the top five countries traveling to Australia this summer, Indonesia came in second place behind New Zealand, with Singapore taking 3rd place and Thailand 5th place. UK travelers took the 4th spot, suggesting that the appetite for long-haul trips is increasing in the UK market too.
Australians are Frequently Heading to Asia to Escape the Cold
Domestically, during Australian winter, there’s a trend for Australia’s southern residents to visit Queensland in the north to enjoy warmer weather during the off-season, with Brisbane, Cairns, the Gold Coast, and the Whitsundays all attracting domestic travelers.
Driven by the international travel market recovering in the first half of 2022, the new Trip.com report shows the off-season demand that demonstrates that more Australians are frequently heading further north to escape the cold during the winter. Since April, the ratio of international bookings made on Trip.com Australia has continued to increase, with 42% in March rising to 63% in July.
Given the uncertainty of the pandemic, most Australian international travelers booking on the website and app have chosen to take short-haul holidays to Southeast Asia during winter this year. Local tourism from Australia to the region is on the rise, with flight bookings to the region increasing by 97% in June and July compared to April and May.
Countries including Indonesia, India, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore all made it into the top 10 most popular destinations for Australian users during June and July, with Indonesia taking the top spot, which aligned with the reopening of borders in many Asian countries this year.
