AUSTRALIANS are booking luxury travel “at record rates”, with growing demand prompting a raft of luxury travel brands to open sales offices across the country, according to new research conducted for luxury travel network Virtuoso.
The company says Australians make 25% more luxury trips than the international average, and are also the second-highest consumers of Business class tickets in the world.
“(Australians) are some of the world’s most intrepid travellers, always looking to new and interesting destinations that Americans might not have considered yet,” said Virtuoso Chairman Matthew D. Upchurch.
Upchurch believes Australians are also willing to pay more for the best experiences.
“They will switch their loyalties, even if it means paying more, to have service that exceeds their expectations,” he said.
The report found that Australians take a higher number of international trips compared to the global average (1.9 vs 1.5), and they are also the least thrifty when it comes to budget setting, with only 14% allocating a set amount of spending money.
In good news for agents, the research also suggests that Aussie luxury travellers are more likely to use a travel advisor than the average (64% vs 52%), while the average Aussie expenditure for a luxury trip was $13,000.
UK-based data analytic firm YouGov carried out the research.
Source: traveldaily