Brands are spending big on advertising as Australians rush back to domestic travel via online bookings, according to the latest Nielsen Consumer and Media View (CMV).
The travel and tourism industry spent $381 million on advertising in Australia between April 2021 and March 2022. That increased by 60% as COVID restrictions were lifted.
The sector poured more than $608 million in the last year into advertising, with Qantas, Stayz, Airbnb, Flight Centre and Virgin Australia topping the list of the biggest tourism and travel advertisers.
According to the data, 76% of Australians “display a keen interest in visiting new places,” with a significant majority showing a preference for “nature-centric experiences” (64%), “coastal proximity” (59%), and “exploration of secluded, off-the-beaten-track locations” (54%).
Nielsen CMV data also reveals a surge in travel interest among younger Australians (25 to 39), with 30% planning some sort of travel - a statistic that makes this demographic 10% more likely to travel than the average Australian.
Both domestic (34%) and overseas (29%) travel packages are predominantly booked through online platforms, reflecting a significant growth over recent years. The preferred platforms among Australians include Booking Holdings Network (37%), TripAdvisor (27%), Virgin Travel and Tourism (20%), and Expedia (15%) for travel packages, while Booking.com (30%), Airbnb (17%), and Hotels.com (10%) lead in accommodation bookings.
The data also highlights the strength of Uber (6.74 million users in March) and Qantas (5.88 million), and only slight falls in April.
While 42% of Australians expressed an inclination to domestic holidays, there's a noticeable rise in interest for international travel. Over the next year, 35% of Australians aim to venture abroad, marking a noteworthy uptick of 11% compared to the data from two years ago.
Among those with international travel plans, popular destinations of choice comprise of Europe (39%), North America - specifically the USA or Canada (24%), the UK (23%), and New Zealand (18%).
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