Australians are increasingly attracted to ‘set-jetting’ – travelling
to film locations or destinations visited by TV celebrity chefs.
“People watch a Rick Stein cooking series, and they are drawn to
visit the destination where the show is filmed. People want the whole
Rick Stein experience,” says David Goldman, joint managing director of
Sydney-based Goldman Travel Corporation.
“It’s the same with movies that showcase a particular destination.
Singapore was on everyone’s radar after the movie Crazy Rich Asians and
there was a surge in interest in Sicily after The White Lotus TV
series.”
Goldman says food tours and multi-generational travel are two of the big trends for Australian travellers.
“Australians are now inclined to skip their drop-and-flop travel in
favour of more purposeful experiences with local communities,
experiences such as volunteering and those that help to boost local
economies.
“Slower travel is another trend,” Goldman says. “Rather than visit
five or six cities in Asia, Aussies will limit themselves to one or two
destinations and thoroughly explore what’s on offer.”
Goldman said Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam are in heavy demand, along with “perennial favourite” Bali.
The introduction of extra air capacity post-Covid had been essential
to restore outbound travel to pre-pandemic levels. “Every single flight
that leaves Australia at the moment is full,” Goldman added.
James Kavanagh, global leisure CEO, Flight Centre Travel Group, said,
“Aussies love exploring South-east Asia and demand for the destination
is rebounding strongly.
“Indonesia is Flight Centre’s number one performing destination
globally and we’ve seen almost twice as many people book to go there
when compared to the previous year.”
Kavanagh says Flight Centre expects strong demand for other popular
destinations in South-east Asia, including Thailand, Vietnam and
Singapore, “particularly from families, as airfare prices start to
fall.”
Vietnam is also trending with Intrepid Travel, after the Australian
company last year launched its global Good Trips Only campaign that
promises to provide trips that are “good for travellers, the places they
go and the communities they visit”.