A new travel report reveals Australians are swapping domestic staycays for international vacays as they prioritise international travel over their careers, house deposits and long term financial security.

 

It seems most Australians are ‘wanderlust-dreaming’ when work comes around, claiming they would ditch their jobs and travel somewhere else in the world instead.

In a robust new travel report conducted by Urban List, using data from over 9,000 respondents and making it the largest travel report in Australia this year, over half of Australians (52%) said they would quit their jobs to go travelling overseas given the chance.

Surprisingly, the new findings reveal that two in three Australians are prioritising a holiday over saving for a house deposit or long term financial security and 73 percent are currently saving their hard earned cash for an international trip. In fact, one in three people have over $3,000 saved already.

Australians aren’t compromising on luxury either. Interestingly, hotels are the preferred accommodation for 46 percent vs only 14 percent opting for private homes, and an incredible 84 percent of respondents said they would pay for an upgrade.

Sophia Wilcox, Head of brand and culture at Urban List said: “When we talk about the good life, travel is the #1 contributor to actually living it. That’s why we want to step deeper into the minds, wallets and bellies of Australian travellers so we could understand what’s really motivating their decisions. By surveying over 9,000 people, we believe we’ve uncovered some robust and actionable insights that aim to arm marketers with the intel they need to create more impactful content and campaigns this year.

Wilcox continued, “Urban List takes pride in being a compass for those who want confidence in the buying and booking choices they make. With 73 percent of those surveyed telling us they’re planning international travel right now and over 66 percent prioritising holidays over house deposits, we will continue to make travel content a priority for Australians looking to travel abroad.”

The report also indicates:

The top 6 destinations on the Australian travellers’ mind with England topping the destination hot-list and New Zealand coming in at second place. Italy and Japan came in joint third place, followed by France and Indonesia

84% of travellers say food and drink, ahead of culture and history (78%), nature and scenery (74%), shopping (37%), beach time (42%),  is most important when choosing an overseas destination

79% purchase items (clothing, gadgets, luxury)  leading up to their holidays - the global travel accessories market is expected to go from $48.2billion in 2021 to $95.7billion in 2031*