The signs that 2024 is going to be a huge year for international travel are already here. Air travel demand for this year is soaring, with a major online travel agent reporting that Australian bookings have increased by a whopping 53 per cent on pre-pandemic levels and jumped a record-breaking 28 per cent in year-on-year bookings for January.
The y-o-y increase isn’t surprising given many Australians were still just feeling their way into international travel at the start of last year.
Perhaps more unexpected however is the massive growth between January 2019 and January 2024.
“There is a growth of 53 per cent in redirects [bookings] by Australian travellers when comparing week one of January 2024 to week one of January 2019,” Skyscanner Vice President Strategic Relations and Development Hugh Aitken said.
“Skyscanner has seen a record-breaking increase in demand in January 2024, whereby the Australian market has jumped 28 per cent in bookings, when comparing 2-8 January 2023 with the 1-7 January 2024.”
According to data from the travel site, Aussies’ top five most sought-after destinations right now are the UK, South Korea, India, Japan and China – based on searches from 1 December 2023 to date for travel in 2024 (January to December).
“While the increased demand for travel is no secret, strong data like this showcases the sheer significance travel has in 2024,” Aitken said.
Citing a Skyscanner survey of 2,000 Australian adults who have been on holiday and plan to go on holiday in the future, he added that the overwhelming majority (nine in ten) of Aussies couldn’t wait to venture abroad.
“Given the solid start so early in the year, we expect the momentum to continue with almost 90 per cent of Aussies itching to jet set overseas to try new and exciting destinations,” Aitken said.
A 2023 Flight Centre study supports these findings, also showing that nine in 10 Aussies want to holiday abroad into the first half of 2024.
Lower overseas airfares could also sweeten the deal.
According to recent data from Flight Centre’s corporate division, outbound airfares from Australia have taken a nosedive across all cabins, with average economy class fares falling by 13 per cent in the second half of 2023 (compared to 2022).
