While domestic tourism has surged in response to the Covid pandemic, it seems that Australians aren’t spending as freely while touring their own backyard as they do when they’re travelling overseas.
The Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) says it is working with the Behavioural Economics Team of Australia to fix the ‘problem’, and persuade domestic adventurers to splash out as wildly as they would if they were in Bali, Budapest, or the Bahamas.
Austrade said the ‘silver lining’ of the pandemic has been the strong recovery in domestic tourism, particularly in the regions.
But it says it now wants domestic travellers to have the same ‘tourist mindset’ as they do when travelling overseas, which typically requires more planning, time, greater commitment and greater expense.
A tale of two types of travellers ... overseas splurgers and domestic budgeteers PIC: Pexels
“Differences in language, currency and culture remove the experience from the ‘everyday’,” it said. “Australian travellers overseas are more likely to justify their spending on shopping, dining out and experiences such as tours.”
On the other hand, the Government body says Australians may perceive their own country to be less interesting because it is familiar, or they may think they have plenty of time to discover Australia ‘later’.
As it seeks to encourage Australians to spend as freely domestically as they would overseas, Austrade reckons there are a few key ways to promote a ‘tourist mindset’.
It says the secret is for operators to ‘hop on’ three key travel trends: cultural tourism; wellness tourism; and nature tourism.
With people now emerging from the lockdowns and restrictions of the pandemic, Austrade says people may be more likely to treat themselves.
“Promoting First Nations experiences more strongly may help tap this potential market,” it said. “There are also opportunities for visitors to engage with local people to gain firsthand experience of activities like jackerooing, fishing or oyster farming.”
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Not sure what they’re complaining about, I’m spending more than ever domestically. Fuel prices and caravan parks are seeing to that.
Luckily we treated ourselves to extensive overseas trips & regular flight trips all over Australia before Covid-19.
We’re happy to now restrict ourselves to caravaning & bush camping.
No way would we get on a plane or a cruise, too claustrophobic, too many germs.
When we set out 8 years ago ,we were very tight with our budget as had no idea how much it would cost to live on the road for a year. I meticulously recorded every $ spent in different categories of spending. Some items were more expensive annually than we expected, like powered sites and some things like food were actually less as we were very economical.
I have now ditched the budget as we are juggling expenses quite well. Yes, fuel and park fees are higher, but it won’t stop the travel. Going slower now suits us better, and we are comfortable camping in the bush or free camps and use parks for a ‘holiday’.
What has changed is our attitude to spending on tours and cultural experiences. They are often the very best part of our travels. Some expensive but really good value. Don’t save these for later. “ Do it now” is our motto. We never know how long we can continue this lifestyle or what our physical health will be. Our needs for long term retirement have downsized considerably and we will spend more now on having really good memories. Hope we have got it right for us!