Holidaymakers are set to splash out more than $9.6 billion on Easter travel this year, however local retailers in popular holiday destinations, for the most part, won’t be the beneficiaries.
According to research by the Australian Retailers Association (ARA), in collaboration with Roy Morgan, approximately 4.45 million Australians (20% of the population aged 18+) plan on taking a holiday over the Easter period – 200,000 fewer than a year ago.
Of the Australians going away this Easter, 53% will travel within their own state, 34% will go interstate, and 13% overseas.
Those who have the cash to spare are spending more, with the average spend on Easter holidays tipped to be $2,053 – up $133 or 7% on 2023.
ARA CEO Paul Zahra says whilst a strong result, the overall spending has been bolstered by an increase in overseas travel.
“Whilst overseas travel only accounts for 13% of holidaymakers’ plans, it makes up $3.8 billion of the overall spend,” he says.
This comes at the cost of domestic spend, which is down $600 million on last year.
“Local retailers in popular holiday destinations will reap the benefits of the domestic tourism spend, however, it won’t be as significant as last year,” says Mr Zahra.