In positive news for outbound travellers, the Australian dollar hit 70 cents against the US dollar overnight, marking a three-year high.
While the dollar hovers around 70 US cents, it also continues to surge against other major currencies, making overseas travel more tempting for those Aussies who cite a poor exchange rate as a deterrent to heading abroad.
Speaking at an intimate media lunch this week attended by Karryon, Luxury Escapes CEO Adam Schwab said that with the Australian dollar’s recent rise, “suddenly [travel] becomes much more palatable for middle Australians”.
In particular, he flagged the Aussie dollar’s performance against the Thai baht “up 5% in the last week” and the Singapore dollar “hitting 87 cents, which it hasn’t seen for a little while”.
“So that starts making it a bit more palatable for that sort of middle Australia, to maybe not go to the caravan park, and do a Bali trip maybe, or a Fiji trip,” he remarked.
The news isn’t as good for longer-haul travel, with Schwab describing the US as still “crazy expensive” and Europe as “incredibly expensive”.
This aligns with official outbound travel stats, which confirm Asia and shorter-haul destinations’ rise among Aussie travellers.
To that point, the Aussie dollar also recently surged to 109 yen, its highest level in decades. It’s little wonder that over 1 million Australians visited the Asian nation in 2025, a figure that could grow further should the dollar continue to rise against the yen.
“The Australian dollar against the Japanese yen has been extremely high in the past six or so months. Half my team went to Japan for holidays last year,” Commonwealth Bank’s head of foreign exchange and international economics, Joseph Capurso told The Guardian.
Elsewhere, the Aussie dollar has lifted against the euro, now buying around 58 euro cents (the strongest rate since March 2025). But while that only represents a small gain, travellers can expect the favourable exchange rate to rise further over the coming months to about 61 euro cents, according to Capurso.
“So I think you want to book your plane tickets for Italy for the middle of the year, and then when you’re over there, you’ll get a good exchange rate,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar is trading around 58 UK pence, the highest level in about a year.
Sydney-based luxury travel advisor Geoff Currie says his clients have not expressed concerns about exchange rates, even if they are influencing their decision-making.
“Most are concerned to lock in all their accommodation now to get the best rates and not to miss out,” he tells Karryon.
Currie, who’s recently been inundated with “large European and UK itineraries… of all budgets”, adds that “FOMO seems to be the key factor” when booking.
KARRYON UNPACKS: For travel advisors, this currency bounce is a timely nudge. Asia, Japan and short-haul favourites should feel easier to sell, while value-led conversations may convert fence-sitters into confirmed bookings sooner – perhaps even to the US and Europe.
