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New Zealand is the most popular international holiday destination for South Australian travellers according to new research from RAA Travel, with the island country taking out top spot ahead of the UK and Indonesia.
The RAA Travel research found that 17 per cent of South Australians – or around one in six – had travelled internationally in the past 12 months, a number that is still building towards the pre-pandemic figure of 32 per cent in 2019.
RAA Travel General Manager Gina Norman said there was still plenty of room for growth in the international travel market.
“Overseas travel has been booming this year, as thousands of South Aussies have taken to the skies for the first time since the pandemic,” Ms Norman said.
“Many travellers would also be about to jet off on their long-awaited European summer trips.
“But we know that inflation and cost-of-living pressures are affecting the types of holidays many travellers book and how long they stay, so a lot of people will be waiting for prices to come down once airline capacity increases again.
“In 2019, around a third of South Australians took an overseas holiday, so we expect demand for international travel to continue to grow steadily in the coming months.”
Ms Norman said there were some interesting findings in the most popular destinations.
“Our RAA Travel research shows that New Zealand has been the most popular overseas destination for South Aussie travellers in the past year.
“New Zealand is a fantastic option because it’s affordable, close to home and there is a huge range of experiences on offer – like skiing, hiking and adventure activities. Or you can enjoy the picturesque scenery from the comfort of transalpine rail as well as enjoy fabulous food and wine experiences.
“The UK and Indonesia always perform strongly among Australian travellers, and they came in at equal second spot, while the USA and Japan rounded out the top five.”
The report also found that 42 per cent of overseas travellers holidayed with their partner, 16 per cent solo, 14 per cent took off with children and 14 per cent with friends.
Ms Norman said the research also found domestic travel was still an attractive option despite overseas borders opening. It found 63 per cent of South Australians took a domestic holiday in the past year, just up on the pre-pandemic figure of 61 per cent.
“Domestically, South Aussies are still very keen to explore our own backyard, which is not surprising given how many wonderful destinations there are in Australia.
“Our favourite interstate option outside of SA was Victoria, followed by New South Wales and Queensland in equal third spot.”
Top 10 international destinations for South Australian travellers (May 2022 – April 2023):
Most popular domestic destinations for South Australian travellers (May 2022 – April 2023):