Amid a perfect storm of staff shortages, fuel hikes and pent-up demand for travel, the cost of international airfares has increased from May 2022 to July 2022, along with soaring domestic flight prices. However, Aussies are still as keen as ever to travel.
Search engine KAYAK crunched the numbers based on flight searches from 1–18 July and found the average return economy international flight in Australia is around $1,761, an increase of 14 per cent compared to the same period in May this year.
Despite this, almost three in five (57%) Aussies are still planning a trip in the next 12 months, up from 49 per cent in December 2021, according to Finder’s Consumer Sentiment Tracker.
The majority (32%) plan to travel within Australia, while 13 per cent are organising both domestic and international travel and 12 per cent of Aussies are keen to head overseas.
In a recent report, Trafalgar said Aussie holidaymakers are still overly eager for Europe getaways, with 78 per cent of Trafalgar trip bookings this year for European destinations, particularly Italy, Britain and Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Morocco, France, Scandinavia, Germany and Netherlands.
Finder Travel Expert Stephanie Yip said Australians should be prepared for airfares to remain high but highlighted tips for travellers to source an affordable getaway.
Flying on a weekday was one obvious tip, with Yip saying, “Weekend flights from Friday to Sunday are often the most expensive and most in demand. If you can fly out on a weekday (Tuesday is often the cheapest), that can help to keep costs down.”
Not waiting and booking early was another key tip and of course, booking with a travel advisor, as always, is the number one tip when it comes to booking any travel right now.
For more, head to finder.com.au/travel