The strong Aussie dollar is luring more mature travellers overseas than ever before.
Thousands of potential grey nomads are leaving the van in the garage and heading for the airport seeking adventure in New York, London and Bangkok rather than Uluru, Birdsville and Batemans Bay.
The Bureau of Statistics reports that in 2011, Australians made a record 7.8 million trips overseas, 10% more than in 2010 and well over double the 3.4 million trips that we took
in 2001.
And it seems older people are leading the way in Australia’s invasion of the world. According to a report in the Age newspaper, the number of people over 60 taking overseas trips has trebled from 383,000 to almost 1.2 million, making it by far the fastest growing age-group category.
Bureau analysis shows that while Australians of all ages are travelling overseas far more than a decade ago, the biggest growth has been among those between 55 and 74, and children aged under 10, as retirees and families increasingly embark on overseas trips.
Roughly 150,000 Australians leave the country each week, flush with strong Aussie dollars, to explore international destinations.
And what could be more alluring than a visit to Karijini, Kakadu or Kalgoorlie? Well, New Zealand remains the top destination for Australian tourists with 1.1 million trips made there last year. Indonesia is the fastest-growing destination, with Australian visitors there mushrooming from 195,000 to 878,000 in the past five years.
The United States (798,000) is the third biggest destination, Thailand (552,500) fourth and Britain (488,000) fifth, with China boasting 369,000 visitors and Fiji 337,000.
