Flight Centre has come out with some statistical highlights from the last 12 months that marked Australia’s year in travel.
From who booked what to how does it all compare to that period that we prefer not to think about, Flight Centre has spilled all on what its clients are booking.
“While trawling through our year’s data in search of fun facts and intriguing trends, we’ve uncovered some interesting travel patterns that have emerged in 2023,” said Flight Centre global managing director Andrew Stark.
“Now that global travel demand is returning to seasonal patterns, we’re seeing things like a sharp rise in solo-female travellers, Japan returning strongly as a favourite Aussie holiday destination and 4-star accommodation reigning supreme.”
This year’s treasure trove includes these gems:
- Flight Centre customers bought 1,401,060 flights in 2023
- The agency sent 3,168 babies on their first flight (with their parents/guardians of course!)
- The biggest cruise holiday was a cool $312,647
- The longest hotel booking was for 367 days
- The total number of rental cars booked was 7,533
- The three top family holiday spots were Fiji, Hawaii and Cairns
- Memorable face-palm moments in 2023? One customer was filming a time-lapse from their hotel balcony, the wind got up, and their phone dropped four floors. Another asked us if they could fly from the Sunshine Coast to Brisbane… direct.
Check out some more interesting trends from Aussie travellers:
The top 10 global destinations Australians travelled to were:
- Melbourne
- Sydney
- Brisbane
- London
- Bali
- Gold Coast
- Perth
- Singapore
- Adelaide
- Auckland
32 per cent of bookings in 2023 were for overseas travel. The top 10 international flight destinations travelled to were:
- London
- Bali
- Singapore
- Auckland
- Fiji
- Tokyo
- Athens
- Rome
- Paris
- Bangkok
68 per cent of customers booked domestic travel in 2023. Their Top 10 flight destinations around Australia were:
- Melbourne
- Sydney
- Brisbane
- Gold Coast
- Perth
- Adelaide
- Cairns
- Hobart
- Darwin
- Sunshine Coast
Destinations with best bang for your buck:
- Japan [¥95.14 = A$1]
- South Africa [R11.95 = A$1]
- Norway [6.97 kr = A$1]
- Sweden [6.95 kr = A$1]
- South Korea [₩861 = A$1]
Women travelling solo were Flight Centre’s most common type of traveller making up around 25 per cent of our customers.
The top 10 destinations they headed to in 2023 were:
- London
- Bali
- Auckland
- Athens
- Rome
- Singapore
- Paris
- Phuket
- Los Angeles
- Tokyo
The top 10 family holiday destinations within Australia were:
- Cairns
- Gold Coast
- Port Douglas
- Melbourne
- Sydney
- Adelaide
- Perth
- Darwin
- Hobart
- Heron Island
56 per cent of Flight Centre’s family customers travelled to international destinations. The top 10 overseas holiday destinations were:
- Fiji
- Hawaii
- Bali
- Japan
- Vanuatu
- Maldives
- Phuket
- Norfolk Island
- London
- Queenstown
The top 10 international destinations visited by couples were:
- UK
- Italy
- US
- Bali
- New Zealand
- France
- Singapore
- Greece
- Phuket
- Spain
The top 10 domestic destinations visited by couples were:
- Cairns
- Gold Coast
- Port Douglas
- Adelaide
- Melbourne
- Darwin
- Sydney
- Hobart
- Perth
- Hamilton Island, Whitsundays
The top 10 holiday destinations were:
- Fiji
- Hawaii
- Cairns
- Tokyo
- Phuket
- Hakuba, Japan
- Bali
- Gold Coast
- The Maldives
- Vanuatu
Which destinations is Flight Centre picking to be Aussies travellers’ top spots in 2024? – behind London, of course, which has always reigned supreme:
- Singapore
- Bali
- Auckland
- Fiji
- Hawaii
- Tokyo
- Dubai
- Phuket
- Bangkok
- Rome
Find more about Flight Centre’s ‘Year In Travel’ report here.
