Does terrorism scare Aussies off travel?

By Kate Webster

The current travel environment has changed as a result of terrorism, so how does this affect travellers’ decisions?

Fuelled by the September 11 attacks in the US, airport security has tightened up so much it’s hard to believe passengers were once allowed to pass through the security check with their shoes on and pocket knives in their hand luggage.

So the question is raised, do terrorist incidents affect Australians’ plans and/or desire to visit a destination?

Looking at Bali as a case study, and delving into the latest Roy Morgan data to find out, it is revealed, 8.1 percent of Australians who went overseas for their last holiday travelled to Indonesia, making it our fourth-most visited international holiday destination.

In particular, Bali was visited by 7.6 percent of Aussie holiday-goers last year, accounting for the lion’s share of Indonesian holidays. But the island’s popularity has ebbed and flowed over the years, and the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings were responsible for some of these fluctuations.

In September 2002, 147,000 Australians were planning to take their next holiday in Bali. On 12 October 2002, the first of the Bali bombings occurred, and intention for the month plummeted to 42,000. By November 2002, the number of Aussies intending to take their next holiday in Bali had bottomed out at 14,000. It was not until April 2004 that intention returned to pre-bombing levels (148,000).

Similarly, destination preference for Bali plummeted in the aftermath of the 2002 attacks: from 884,000 Australians saying they’d like to holiday on the island in September 2002, down to 582,000 in October and 300,000 by January 2003. As with intention, it took until April 2004 for Aussies’ interest in holidaying in Bali to return to pre-bombing levels (1 million).

However, intention and interest for Bali also experienced several peaks and troughs at other times between 2002 and the end of 2006 as well. While Australians’ enthusiasm for Bali as a holiday spot was certainly affected by both terrorist attacks, it appears that these weren’t the only factors with the power to dampen intention and interest in the destination.

Do you think terrorism plays a part in travellers’ decisions on destinations?

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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