Australians shunning their own backyard
The impact of low cost airlines on travel in Asia Pacific has again been highlighted by the release of two sets of visitor arrival figures this week.
In one, the number of overnight domestic trips taken by Australians has fallen by 23 percent on a per capita basis since 1999, according to peak national industry body, Tourism and Transport Forum (TTF).
The March Quarter National Visitor Survey results show that overnight trips for the year ending March 2010 fell by 2.7 per cent, with visitor nights down 1.3 per cent and spending 0.2 per cent lower compared to the previous 12 months.
TTF Executive Director Brett Gale said these figures continue a longer-term trend.
“Domestic overnight visitor numbers have fallen from 72.9 million for the year ending March 1999 to 66 million in the year ending March 2010, a drop of 9.4 per cent,†Gale said
“That’s despite the Australian population growing by 3.2 million people – or 17 per cent – over the corresponding period.â€
“In recent years, Australians have been travelling overseas in growing numbers, attracted by low airfares and the strong Australian dollar,†Gale added.
Supporting this view, figures from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) show that travel demand in Asia Pacific picked up strongly in the first quarter of the year, registering a 10 percent increase from the same quarter in 2009.
Destinations in Southeast Asia, which are well served by low cost carriers, reported especially strong growth with a collective gain of 16 percent year-on-year in the first quarter.
International arrivals to the Pacific grew by six percent during the first quarter of 2010, dominated by a six percent increase in visitor numbers to the higher volume destinations of Australia and New Zealand.
Ian Jarrett
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