While booking numbers are down, Australians are still keen on domestic tourism experiences with average basket size up 5.7 per cent year-on-year across more than 500,000 bookings in 2024 so far, according to a new Big Red Group report.
Big Red Group’s Seasonal Experiences Index (SEI) for Autumn/Winter 2024 also pointed to strong international market recovery with 89.1 per cent growth this season and a whopping 337.6 per cent year-on-year growth for 2024 to date.
Trending categories among Big Red Group’s 3,000-plus experience operators include wellness tourism, watersports (particularly in Far North Queensland) and animal experiences.
Domestic tourism experiences trend in regional areas
Private Broome helicopter flight with a picnic. Image: Red Balloon
Queensland is still Australia’s number-one domestic holiday destination followed by marginal bookings growth in Victoria (0.4%) and SA, NSW and NT further behind.
However, regional NSW took the top spot for most popular domestic travel destination with Young (up 30.7%), Coffs Harbour (up 52.4%) and Orange (up 116.7%) experiences making great gains.
Domestic travellers also flocked to book experiences in northern Outback Queensland (up 314.7%) and WA’s Kimberley region (up 6.8%).
International market growth for Aussie experiences
Hot-air ballooning is trending with tourists. Image: Big Red Group
Big Red Group notes the fastest-growing international markets for experiences this year include China, Taiwan, Singapore, India and Korea, particularly for theme parks, cruises, hot-air balloons and jet boats.
It’s also good news for Tropical North Queensland’s inbound recovery with positive growth for Cairns (up 13.1%) and Port Douglas (up 47.6%) after summer storms and cyclones impacted the tourism industry earlier this year.
Whale-watching on the Gold Coast. Image: Experience Oz
This prompted combined targeted tourism campaigns and incentives that successfully highlighted experiences in TNQ, partnering with Big Red Group’s Experience Oz.
Weather continues to impact other regions. While Queensland has enjoyed some of its best whale-watching numbers in decades with bookings up 18.7 per cent, an unprecedented number of weather-related cancellations cut NSW bookings by a fifth (20.6%).
Domestic travellers value local experiences
A sky-high view from the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway in Cairns. Image: Adrenaline
Big Red Group Co-Founder & CEO David Anderson said the report showed Aussies continued to invest in domestic tourism experiences despite economic uncertainty, unpredictable weather and the collapse of two regional airlines.
“It’s promising to see a resilient spirit in Australia’s tourism and experiences industry,” he said.
“With inbound tourism on the rebound and Australians continuing to invest in travel and experiences, it’s clear domestic and international visitors are still eager as ever to try out new experiences.
“With over 500,000 experiences booked so far this season, we look forward to seeing what the next few months and peak summer season will bring.”
Read the full report here.
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