Flight Centre reveals all in 2022 Year in Travel

By Alexandra Coulton

It’s that time of year. The Christmas trees are going up, Mariah Carey is beginning her annual take-over of our Spotify playlists and the end of 2022 is in sight.

From the Winter Olympics in Beijing, a new British monarch and turbulence on Downing Street to the Socceroos’ welcome (if unexpected) early victories at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar against Tunisia and Denmark. There’s no denying it’s been an eventful year.

2022 was also a big year for the travel industry. Borders reopened, restrictions lifted and Australian travellers began to venture out into the world again.

Reflecting on the year that was, Flight Centre has crunched its numbers to bring us a wrap-up of Australia’s Year in Travel 2022.

Based on booking data, the travel agency revealed the hottest destinations of this year as well as some interesting titbits.

For example, the most expensive cruise booked through a Flight Centre agent in 2022 cost a whopping $333,400, which is the equivalent of approximately 240 iPhone 14s.

The most expensive international hotel booking made in 2022 cost $149,100 and the most expensive domestic hotel booking came in at a marginally cheaper $130,878. Even combined, these hotels pale in comparison with that mammoth cruise booking.

In terms of just who travelled where, Flight Centre’s data showed that close to half of its travellers (45 per cent) were flying solo in 2022, visiting friends and family, or perhaps escaping them after state and international borders reopened.

Couples came in second, with 38 per cent of travellers looking to enjoy a trip with their significant other or a friend. The remaining travellers were made up of family and group bookings, with 10 per cent and 7 per cent respectively.

The company’s oldest traveller was 94 years old and its youngest was zero years old. It’s unknown if they flew together.

The travel agency also revealed that while borders may have been open, contributing factors such as DFAT’s passport debacle and uncertainty meant that the majority of Aussies chose to holiday at home this year.

The most popular destination was Sydney accounting for 7.71 per cent of bookings but Melbourne came a close second with 7.53 per cent and Brisbane scored position number three with 6.06 per cent.

London beat out all the other international destinations this year, coming in at number four, with 4.64 per cent of travellers choosing to rip the band-aid off post-pandemic with a long-haul flight to enjoy the British summer and sink a pint in a London pub once more, Harry and Megan sightings not included.

Based on the data, 10 of the top 22 destinations this year were domestic holiday spots:

Sydney, Australia
Melbourne, Australia
Brisbane, Australia
London, United Kingdom
Gold Coast, Australia
Cairns, Australia
Perth, Australia
Bali, Indonesia
Adelaide, Australia
Singapore
Nadi, Fiji
Auckland, New Zealand
Hobart, Australia
Los Angeles, United States
Darwin, Australia
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Sunshine Coast, Australia
Manila, Philippines
Paris, France
Bangkok, Thailand
Phuket, Thailand
Rome, Italy

Check our Flight Centre’s full wrap-up fo 2022, and its predictions for 2023 HERE.

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