Why Domestic and Foreign Visitors Alike Flock to Australia

Australians are among the world’s most accomplished travelers. Wherever you find yourself – whether it’s backpacking in Thailand or pub-crawling in the West End of London – you will meet a group of Aussies. It’s perhaps Australia’s distance from anywhere else that make its inhabitants determined to make the most of globe-trotting when they get the chance, but this often leads us to forget the wealth of attractions back home and assume Australians feel the same.

A world of discovery in Australia

The truth is holidays in Australia are just as popular among native Aussies as they are among the rest of us. This shouldn’t really come as a surprise, since Australia is continent-sized country containing a remarkable variety of different climates, environments and cultures, with a good road network and system of internal flights. In many ways, Australia resembles the USA with its potential for road trips and ‘foreign’ holidays across the other side of the country – and Australians opting for domestic holidays view the place in much the same way as Americans.

Australia’s ‘staycation’ boom

In fact, domestic holidays in Australia are growing in popularity, according to the country’s latest National Visitor Survey. This recorded a 6 per cent increase in overnight trips in 2011-12 compared to the previous year, alongside a 7 per cent increase in visitor nights and a 9 per cent rise in the amount spent by tourists. When Australians took day trips this amount increased even further, to 15.7 per cent, leading the head of the Tourism and Transport forum, John Lee, to remark that “this shows there is strong underlying demand for Australian tourism products, accommodation and experiences.”

Following Aussies off the beaten track

By taking more Australia holidays themselves, Aussies are underlining what millions of international visitors are keen to sample for themselves – the incredible variety of things on offer. Overseas visitors are keen to experience such “headline” sights as Uluru, the Sydney Opera House and the crocodile-infested Outback, but there’s much more to Australia than just that, and it is the domestic tourists with their more “local” knowledge and easier access to local information that we must turn to in order to discover the quirkier or just lesser-known attractions.

Photo source: Avalon Tasmania