Travel Trends
2024 Unpacking the trends that govern how we travel in 2024
4/5
At a glance
6/7
The bounce back continues
8/9
Classic destinations rock
Inside
10/11
Hungry for food tours
12/13
Cruising’s new wave
14/15
The urge to splurge
Luxury Escapes
Unpacking
how we will travel in 2024
The key takeaway from our Travel Trends 2024 survey is that the strong rebound in Australian travel after the pandemic years looks like it’s here to stay. For the second year in a row, nine out of 10 Australian travellers plan to go on a holiday in the next year, and a huge 72% of people we spoke to are planning two or more getaways. The Luxury Escapes members we surveyed told us that they still love places like Bali, Italy and the Whitsundays but they are adventurous too with 39% of them looking to go somewhere that they had never been before. A third of all respondents were looking to put a tick on that bucket list and there was a strong thread of family connections running throughout the responses. Around 34% of respondents were looking for the perfect multi-generational escape and 17% were
heading off on holiday after a recommendation from family and friends. In terms of sectors, the big winners are cruises and tours, which took a little while longer to bounce back after the government’s response to the pandemic closed us off to the world. But now they are back bigger, better, longer and more bespoke than ever. This year we have intertwined expert insights from our Luxury Escapes team who are out there every day seeing the trends in travel from the front line. They are the people who are bringing Luxury Escapes members the best value, the most unforgettable experiences and the quality accommodation that makes getting away that extra bit special.
Adam Schwab
CEO and Co-founder Luxury Escapes
Travel Trends 2024
3
Travel in
at a glance
2024
We are travelling to old favourites but keen to experience new things, with food being a huge driver of our travel plans over the next year.
Australians are making up for lost holiday time with
56%
72%
planning at least two holidays in 2024.
of Aussies prioritise travel over any other discretionary spend.
Where we are going
82% 88%
$8,000+
Australia
Average amount Aussies spend per holiday.
International
Top 5 reasons for travel in 2024 1
2
Experience new things
To relax and unwind
3
To explore different cultures
No. 1 domestic destination
The Whitsundays
4
5
To meet new people
To make up for lost time postpandemic
No. 1 international destination
Bali
Luxury Escapes
23% Sustainable tourism
34% Multi-generational travel
What’s trending
36%
in 2024
Wellness escapes
58% Food tourism
58% Experiential travel
Travel Trends 2024
5
01
Travel remains the number one discretionary item for Australians, despite an increase in cost-ofliving pressures. Don’t call it a comeback. That was last year when nine out of 10 people surveyed told us they planned on taking a domestic or international holiday. Now, in 2024, that same number of Australian travellers plan on setting off on a trip, as they continue to make up for lost time after the years of pandemic restrictions. Australian travel is remarkably resilient, this is less of a bounce back and more a sustained love of packing our bags and getting away. “Travel remains incredibly important to Australians,” says Tony Gothard, Chief Commercial Officer at Luxury Escapes. “Despite stubbornly high interest rates and some very real cost-of-living pressures, almost half (44%) of Australians are planning to spend the same amount, or
6
even more, on travel as they did in 2023.” Those planning an overseas jaunt (88%) are just slightly ahead of those who are going to travel within Australia (82%). This is great news for domestic tour operators, who have seen a boom in visitors ever since Australia closed its borders; even with the restrictions lifted we have maintained a love for exploring our own backyard. And while cost-of-living pressures continue to hurt households, it is travel that remains at the top of people’s mind when it comes to spending. “What we are seeing is that a majority (56%) of Aussies prioritise travel over any other discretionary spend, happily spending an average of $8,000+ per holiday,” says Gothard.
Where we are going
82% 88%
Australia
$8,000+
International
Amount planned to spend per holiday (2 nights+)
Factors that drive decision making 1
Never been before
2
Been before and want to return
3
Bucket list destination
4
Recommended by friends or family
Luxury Escapes
The bounce back of Australian travel
continues
“Luxury Escapes recently celebrated its tenth birthday and while the travel industry looks very different to when we started, it is great to see that Australians have maintained their passion for seeing the world. We hope to see equally strong demand for travel in our next survey.”
3
%
M
39%
Same
e– or
–3
TONY G OTHARD, CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER AT LUXURY ES CAPES.
2024 vs 2023:
Amount to spend on international travel Travel Trends 2024
Le
ss
– 28%
7
Classics
rock
Much-loved destinations like Bali, Italy and the Whitsundays continue to be a drawcard for Australian travellers. Bali retains the top spot for the most popular international holiday destination. This is the second year that Bali has reigned supreme, with Japan a close second and Thailand coming in third place. Rounding out the top five is Vietnam and Italy. And, for the third year in a row, Italy takes the number one spot for Australians’ all-time favourite travel destination. “Australians’ love affair with Bali has come back with a vengeance and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down,” says Aaron Corbett, Country Manager – Indonesia for Luxury Escapes. “And why would it? The forever-changing island always has new things to explore, whether it’s visiting Pererenan for the
8
latest boutiques and restaurants, experiencing local village life in Sidemen or dancing the night away at some of the world’s best beach clubs.” Heading to Bali might seem a safe bet for Australian travellers but the new local trend is that many of those who visit the island are, in fact, exploring further afield. “In 2024 we are expecting to see Australians travel off the beaten track and split their accommodation across multiple regions,” says Corbett. “People will use Bali as their hub to visit some of Bali’s upand-coming sibling islands. Luxury resorts and world-class restaurants are opening across the Indonesian archipelago, where you can ride
INTL holiday destinations
AU holiday destinations
Whitsundays
2
Gold Coast
3
Broome
horses on an uncrowded beach on the island of Sumba, surf world class waves with mountain backdrops on Lombok, or take an overnight luxury yacht throughout Labuan Bajo and the Komodo National Park.” Domestically, the Whitsundays remains the number one place for sun-seeking travellers to visit, knocking Far North Queensland off the top spot from last year. Queensland also holds the number two local hotspot with Gold Coast while Broome comes in third. Sydney and Melbourne round out the domestic top five; Sydney has bumped Hobart out of the top five for this year.
TOP 5
TOP 5 1
02
4
Sydney
5
Melbourne
1
Bali
3
Thailand
2
Japan
4
Vietnam
5
Italy
Luxury Escapes
“Despite being an Aussie tourist hotspot, I love that Bali remains so rich in culture. Day trips to picturesque islands and monkey forests, some of the world’s best hospitality, plates of nasi goreng jam packed with exotic Indonesian flavours on every corner, stunning beaches and swimming spots and no shortage of epic resorts and villas that ooze luxury without breaking the bank.” J IMMY NIC HOLS ON, FOR ME R BACHELO R AND LUXURY ES CAPES INS IDER
“Italy holds top spot for all-time favourite holiday destination according to Australians, three years running.”
Top 5 “off the beaten track” destinations
1 South Africa 2 Vietnam
3 Iceland 4 Cambodia 5 Borneo
Travel Trends 2024
9
03 10
Travel Trends likely to try
in 2024 1
Food tourism
2
Experiential travel
3
Wellness travel
4
Multi-generational travel
5
Sustainable travel
6
Solidarity tourism
7
“Workcation” travel
Luxury Escapes
Former MasterChef Australia contestant Khanh Ong talks street food on our podcast, Travel in 20.
Bite club
Australians have a voracious appetite when it comes to food tours. Food tourism remains the number one most popular tourism trend of 2024 with 58% of survey respondents planning to sink their teeth into some foodie travel in the next 12 months. This much-loved travel trend tied for top spot with Experiential Travel, immersing yourself in a destination’s culture. Arguably, these are two sides of the same coin and Luxury Escapes’ new Signature Series tours tap into both. Luxury Escapes’ first Signature Series tour launched in 2023 with former MasterChef Australia judges Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan taking a select group of travellers on a food tour of Vietnam. The tour set Luxury Escapes records by selling out in 24 hours. In 2023, we saw customers taking trips they had booked closer to home and after the pandemic. In 2024, people are really embracing touring again globally. “If you think about a tours customer they tend to have a longer lead time because they are purchasing their entire travel experience and people tend to do more lengthy research,” says Joshua Landy, Head of Tours for Luxury Escapes. “In 2023,
touring had not fully recovered because most of the bookings for 2023 were happening in 2022 when some borders were still closed and there was not the same level of certainly that we have now. Touring in 2024 is finally seeing the post-pandemic rebound, and it is global, with almost every key destination coming back really strong.” And food touring is leading the way because food is specialist but it’s also universal. “If you think about travelling to any destination, food is one of the most authentic ways to experience a place other than just seeing it; when I travel I remember every dish I ate and where I was when I ate it,” Landy says. “The evolution of food tours is the next big thing, where you are working with true experts in not only food but in the local cuisine. In building the Signature Series Vietnam tour, there was one day where Matt and Gary got a van in Ho Chi Minh City and they hit up a list of local banh mi places for the entire day, so at the end of the day Matt Preston could say ‘this is the best banh mi in Ho Chi Minh City and I know because I have done the legwork’.”
“The reason that Vietnam is such a great destination is that culturally, food plays such an important part in people’s day-today lives… you know, multi-generational families living in small spaces, eating out a lot because big kitchens are rare, across thousands of years of history. Immigration, too, plays a part – [from] China, Thailand and Cambodia, you can see the influences trailing through with the spices. Street food’s one of the holy grails – and Vietnam has one of the great street food cultures.” G A RY MEHIG AN, FORMER MASTERCHEF AU STRALIA HOST A ND LUXURY ES CAPES INS IDER
Travel Trends 2024
11
04
As travellers seek relaxing, bucket-list travel, cruising steps up with longer, more bespoke offerings.
12
One of the key findings of our Travel Trends 2024 survey was that the key reason for booking travel was to experience new things, closely followed by the need to relax and unwind. More than a third (34%) of respondents were also looking to book a multi-generational holiday for their extended family. Increasingly, that means customers are turning to cruises with 73% open to a cruise booking. Cruising, like tours, took a bit longer to rebound but 2024 is the year that we expect to see a huge uptick in multi-generational cruising as well as clients booking longer voyages; Princess Cruises just announced
their longest-ever world cruise setting sail for 116 days for the 2026 season. More than 70 ships will visit Australia in the ’23-’24 cruise season, which is testimony to demand for cruises from Australians. “Australia and New Zealand has become one of the most exciting cruise regions in the world and this year we are gearing up for a bumper cruise season,” says Jules Higgins, Senior Partnership and Contracting Manager – Cruise for Luxury Escapes. “Our clients are spoilt for choice with so many ships visiting our shores, you can choose from a two-
or three-night short break to a full circumnavigation of Australia or crossing the Tasman to New Zealand.” In 2024 we are expecting to see cruisers get more adventurous and head further afield on longer itineraries or demand more bespoke offerings, from the family-focussed Disney Cruise Line to Virgin Voyages adults-only ships. “As environmental technologies and practices present on cruise ships accelerate, we also expect to see a rise in potential new-to-cruise travellers committed to making travel decisions based on environmental impacts,” Higgins says.
Out with the old “Having the bedroom all set up for me with my own lounge area and a private balcony – and a bathtub – felt so spectacular. I’m a converted cruiser now and I can’t wait to explore the rest of the world.” N ATAL IE B A S S INGT H WAIT E, AUST R A LIA N ENT ERTA INMENT ROYALT Y A ND L U X U RY ES CA P ES INSID ER
Bassingthwaite experienced Virgin Voyages and Silversea Cruises as part of filming for Luxury Escapes: The World’s Best Holidays, on Foxtel, BINGE & 10Play.
The average age of a cruise passenger continues to fall
49 47
years years
2017
2024
Luxury Escapes
Cruising’s
new wave
Top 5 reasons for travel in 2024 1
2
Experience new things
To relax and unwind
The number of Australian travellers
3
To explore different cultures
73%
Travel Trends 2024
4
5
To meet new people
To make up for lost time postpandemic
open to booking a cruise
13
05
The urge to splurge Australian travellers are treating themselves with room upgrades, high-end resorts and flight upgrades. that they book,” says Paul Gorman, General Manager Business Development at Luxury Escapes. “We have found that 65% of our members will opt for a higher room category that may provide club access or private pool access. The hotel room is no longer just somewhere to sleep at night, families are looking for technical solutions to stream the kids’ media or space to combine business and leisure (“bleisure”) and that is driving our members into higher room categories and, in turn, delivering
so
e
upg
65%
om
er
ro
In t
e ra d
st
s
ed
58%
i
n
DI AN A C H A N, M ASTE R C HEF AUSTRAL IA WINNER AN D L U X U RY E S CA P E S INSID ER
in 5 - st a r re
s “When you step into an ultra-luxury stay like Thailand’s Soneva Kiri, you instantly feel relaxed and your mind is at ease. You are greeted and looked after from the moment you arrive at the airport in Bangkok to catch the private jet to Koh Kood. Everything is taken care of and it’s the best way to leave any troubles behind and relax.”
higher revenue returns to our hotel and resort partners.” More than half of those surveyed (58%) are looking for five-star resorts, with 38% wanting three- or four-star offerings. “There has been an incredible number of new luxury hotels and resorts opening of late both domestically and internationally, and this is driving Australians to look for rooms that complement the type of holiday that they want,” Gorman says.
rt
14
The resurgence of travel in Australia has brought with it a love of the finer things in life as respondents told us they are keen to spend on room upgrades (65%) and flight upgrades (61%). Other top holiday indulgences include massages (47%), fine dining (42%) and spa treatments (41%). This is part of a trend that Luxury Escapes has seen firsthand: customers seeking a more experiences-driven holiday with all the trimmings. “Our members are increasingly very picky about the type of room
I n t e re
d st e
Top priorities when booking
1 Room upgrade
2 Flight upgrade 3 Massages 4 Fine dining 5 Spa treatment
Luxury Escapes
“The hotel room is no longer just somewhere to sleep at night”
Travel Trends 2024
15
The travellers
In collating this Travel Trends 2024 report we spoke to nearly 4000 Luxury Escapes members. Respondents were predominantly either Generation X or Baby Boomers (83.7% combined) and skewed 70% female; the average amount they planned to spend for a two-night holiday is $7,910.