Australia’s border reopening has piqued the interest of international travellers, with searches to Australia across Expedia Group booking platforms up 35% in the week that the reopening was announced (Feb 7-13) compared to the previous week.
The highest proportion of searches came from US, followed by travellers from the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, and New Zealand.
These top five countries account for 60% of all international searches for travel to Australia.
There was heightened interest from travellers in the UK and Canada, with searches from both countries increasing 75% and 70% week-on-week consecutively since the announcement.
“With international guests ready to touch down in Australia, hoteliers and tourism operators alike have the chance to connect with their guests and showcase the wonders of Australia again,” said Expedia Group Senior Director Market Management APAC, Drew Bowering.
Bowering expects that the family and friends market will continue to drive inbound travel to start, but said that the 35% week on week increase is a promising sign that international travel is “bouncing back hard and fast”.
“The tourism industry rebuild is now officially well underway, and we can’t wait to see what the next few months hold for Australia,” he said.
The latest travel stats show that Sydney is the highest searched city by international travellers, followed by Melbourne, Sunshine Coast, Cairns and Whitsundays.
In New South Wales, the other top destinations for travellers include the North Coast, South Coast, Newcastle, and Hunter Valley. Melbourne, The Great Ocean Road, Gippsland, Victoria Regional and Mornington Peninsula take out the top spots in Victoria, while in Queensland, coastlines destinations are most popular with top search including the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Cairns and Whitsundays.