May 13 2019
The latest research from Roy Morgan shows that over 11.9 million Australians (58.3%) are planning on spending at least one night on their next trip in a domestic destination in Australia.
The Victorian capital of Melbourne has consistently been the most popular domestic holiday location over the last decade and over 1.5 million Australians currently intend to stay at least one night in Melbourne during their next trip.
Sydney is a clear second place with nearly 900,000 Australians intending to stay in the NSW capital for at least one night on their next trip. Following in popularity is the NSW North Coast encompassing holiday towns such as Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour, Port Stephens and Forster, with over 550,000 Australians intending to stay for at least one night on their next trip in this region.
Queensland capital city Brisbane is the fourth most popular domestic holiday destination with over 530,000 Australians planning on spending at least one night in Brisbane on their next trip while just over 500,000 intend to spend at least one night on their next trip in the Victorian regional holiday destination of the Great Ocean Road including the towns of Torquay, Lorne and Port Fairy.
Australia’s smaller capital cities are also popular domestic destinations with Canberra sixth most popular on 442,000, Adelaide in ninth on 385,000 just ahead of Perth on 351,000 in tenth and Hobart as the fifteenth most popular destination with 304,000 intending to spend at least one night on their next trip in the Tasmanian capital.
Top 15 domestic destinations Australians intend to stay at least one night on next trip
Source: Roy Morgan Single Source, Jan 2018 – December 2018 (n = 14,913). Base: Australians 14+.
How are Australian holiday intentions driven by psychographic factors?
Helix Personas is a unique and powerful consumer segmentation and data integration tool that combines sophisticated psychographic and behavioural data to classify the Australian population into 54 Personas and six Communities. Helix Personas uses a combination of Roy Morgan Single Source data and third party data sources.
This information is used to understand future buying intentions and media consumption patterns. These are easily integrated with third party datasets.
Analysing the holiday intentions of Australians by their Helix Persona Communities reveals different travel destinations around Australia are more attractive to certain types of Australians than others.
Sydney & Melbourne lead the way but Helix Communities diverge on third choice
Analysis of Australia’s leading holiday destinations shows that Melbourne and Sydney are the most popular holiday destinations regardless of which Helix Community is considered. However, beyond the two leaders the choices and preferences of the different Helix Communities diverge considerably.
The third choice for the 100 Leading Lifestyles community is the Australian capital of Canberra whereas 300 Aspirationals rank Surfers Paradise in third place behind the two largest cities.
The 200 Metrotechs and 500 Doing Fine communities are looking for something a little different with both opting for the Great Ocean Road as their third favoured destination which includes the Victorian coastal towns of Torquay, Lorne and Port Fairy.
In contrast to other communities it is the Queensland capital of Brisbane that holds down third spot for both the 400 Hearth & Home and 600 Fair Go communities.
Top 3 holiday destinations ranked by Helix Community in 2018
Source: Roy Morgan Single Source, January 2018 – December 2018 (n = 14,913). Base: Australians 14+. *Great Ocean Road includes Torquay, Lorne and Port Fairy.
To learn more visit www.HelixPersonas.com.au.
Michele Levine, CEO, Roy Morgan, says:
“Almost 12 million Australians intend to stay at least one night in a domestic holiday destination on their next trip and Melbourne is once again the favoured destination for Australian holidaymakers.
“Melbourne was selected by over 1.5 million Australians as a holiday destination, well ahead of second placed Sydney mentioned by nearly 900,000 Australians and almost triple the 535,000 who are planning visit to Brisbane on their next trip.
“Other popular destinations outside of Australia’s largest cities include the North Coast of New South Wales including towns such as Forster, Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour and Port Stephens, and the Great Ocean Road in Victoria and the nearby towns of Torquay, Lorne and Port Fairy. Both of these regional destinations are mentioned by over 500,000 Australians.
“To get the most value out of the data Roy Morgan collects on Australian travel intentions it’s important to drill down into what really drives Australians to make the decisions they do.
“Roy Morgan’s Helix Personas is a unique and powerful consumer segmentation and data integration tool that combines sophisticated psychographic and behavioural data to classify the Australian population into 54 Personas and six communities.
“Helix Personas shows although Melbourne and Sydney are the preferred travel destinations for Australians across the spectrum of communities there are significant differences in the other destinations Australians choose based on their psychographic segmentation.
“Whereas Canberra is the third most popular destination for the big spending 100 Leading Lifestyles community it is the Great Ocean Road in South-Western Victoria that is the third most favoured location for both the ‘young and culturally diverse’ 200 Metrotechs community and the more ‘modest and pragmatic’ 500 Doing Fine community.
“The Roy Morgan product allows travel agents as well as holiday destination businesses such as hotels and resorts to understand where their customers are based and which markets to target precious marketing dollars at to drive the greatest return on investment.”
