According to a Perth economist the increase in travel in Australia is not surprising despite the cost-of-living crisis.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released a report on overseas arrivals and departures in Australia, stating a 43 per cent increase in short-term arrivals and a 25 per cent increase in short- term departures of Australian residents.
Dr Daniel Kiely is a senior research fellow with the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre. He says people travel for many reasons.
“We often think of travel purely as being, I guess, what we would traditionally think as tourism or holiday-related travel, but there are lots of other reasons that people travel,” he says.
People travel outside Australia for business, pleasure, education, cultural reasons, and family according to the economist. This falls under the ‘short-term’ resident departure statistic.
Travel Agent Leanne Sajitos from Carine Travel Bug says there has been a 110 per cent increase in people travelling.
“We have had a few post-uni students doing some trips and then people 40 plus as well,” she says.
Over the last year, Japan was the most popular destination for the travel agency.
University Student Claire Madlener says “traveling is a priority for me because it gives you life experience you don’t get at home.”
The 21-year-old says travelling comes with sacrifices, including cutting back on budgets and missing out on activities with friends.
The ABS reported from February 2023 to February this year, there were more than 700,000 border departures taken by Australians.
Miss Madlener took her most recent international trip in January 2024.
“I travelled to Thailand just because it was at the top of my bucket list for a long time. Many people I know have travelled to Thailand and said it’s their favourite place to go,” she says.
“We booked the flights with the money we had, and then from there, we set ourselves a budget of how much we wanted to spend.”
Miss Madlener works as a swim instructor for kids to help support her travelling.
“I want to go back to Japan and do a ski season there, and I also want to go to Europe because I haven’t been there yet,” she says.
Australians are not the only ones travelling more; there has also been an increased number of short-term arrivals, according to the ABS.
Dr Kiely says the 43 per cent increase in short-term arrivals is good for the Australian economy and can have many flow-on effects.
Hear more from Dr Daniel Kiely.
The cost-of-living crisis hasn’t impacted people’s want and need to travel, but it has impacted how people do it, according to Dr Kiely.
He says the biggest impact is people’s ability to spend when they arrive in Australia or travel internationally. This, in turn, impacts the economy.
Miss Madlener says it is worth cutting costs to do something you love.
“I feel like travelling has given me a different perspective on life. I feel like I take life a bit more day to day and live in the moment,” she says.