Canberra: After nearly two years of Covid-19 lockdowns, public health restrictions and pandemic-related stress, Australians are ready for a holiday, half already saving for their dream getaway.
Results from a 1,005-person survey, released by Australia’s largest bank the Commonwealth Banks of Australia (CBA) on Friday, revealed how Australians were planning and saving for travel in 2022, reports Xinhua news agency.
Top reasons for getting away included “relaxing”, 65 per cent of respondents, followed by just over half who were keen to visit family and friends, closely followed by “exploring new places”.
Search data provided to Xinhua by holiday booking company Booking.com showed that Australians’ top five most searched overseas travel destinations were Fiji, Singapore, Dubai, London and Hawaii.
Little surprise that the tropical island nation of Fiji was on the top of people’s minds as survey respondents described their ideal getaway as “somewhere we can be surrounded by nature” followed by “a beach or tropical island”.
The survey also found that young Australians, between 18 and 29, were twice as likely to be planning international travel compared to respondents over 50.
Men were twice as likely to be planning international travel than women, the majority of which had kept travel plans to Australia.
Respondents had plans to save an average of A$5,072 ($3,600) for travel in 2022, but the majority had not yet reached half of this savings target.
CBA’s Executive General Manager of Everyday Banking Kate Crous said while saving for a holiday was the third most common goal among Australians, cost still presented a major barrier to travel for most.
“We’re seeing that while people feel excited about travelling again, one in two Aussies are worried about the cost of travelling, and this is even more common for young adults,” said Crous.
Australia will open its borders to international travellers on February 21.
