As the sun-bronzed Aussie facade fades away under a mountain of sunscreen, it now emerges that another myth about the Aussie psyche has been exposed. Apparently, Aussie travelers believe that when it comes to travel they are spontaneous, whereas, in fact, they are meticulous planners poring over all the ins and outs before making a decision.
This startling revelation has not come from highly paid business consultants, academics or poorly paid investigative journalists but was unearthed by global travel search site Skyscanner.
Today, Skyscanner released its research into how Australians book travel which found that 54% of them had never booked a last-minute holiday, despite 70% of respondents claiming to be spontaneous travelers.
Why does this matter?
This is actually a serious subject because when and how far in advance people book travel is key information for airlines and other travel providers in scheduling and pricing their services. One of the post-COVID trends is that people are tending to book flights closer to the day of departure than before the pandemic, which plays into the narrative of higher fares and no cheap flights to be had.
So, perhaps it’s a case of bad memories from some of the longest lockdowns in the world that have drained those down under of their spontaneity when it comes to booking travel.
Returning to the Skyscanner survey of 1,000 respondents, 49% of them claimed they wanted to be more spontaneous when it comes to travel. The data says otherwise with 35% still planning 90 days or more ahead of their travel, although Skyscanner’s data also revealed that in March last minute bookings accounted for more than 25% of all bookings. For those who like the facts, a last-minute booking is defined as one within 7-29 days of departure.
If Aussies are not throwing darts at a map to pick their next holiday, what are they actually doing in these 90+ days of planning? Skyscanner said that 47% of them are setting up price alerts on travel sites to get the best deals and 95% are being flexible on dates and destinations to bag the best combination.
That seems to suggest that they are more worried about how much the trip will cost than scratching their spontaneity nerve, but given the cost of living pressures here that’s pretty understandable.
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Some tips from the expert
Debunking more myths, Skyscanner Australian travel expert Jarrod Kris said:
“Planning ahead can actually enable travelers to be more spontaneous in the moment, as they have the peace of mind that comes with knowing the logistics are taken care of. For all the travel research that Aussies flagged as important, Skyscanner has got them covered.”
Kris lists three ways Aussies, and everyone else, can bag the bargain they are looking for on their next holiday.
- Be flexible: Searching by multiple dates gives you the best chance of finding a bargain simply because some dates are more popular, which drives up prices. Use the whole month tool to quickly spot where the low fares are and fly on less popular days of the week.
- Mix & Match: Mixing things up can seriously cut costs, such as flying with a different airline each way or flying out of one airport and back into another. Find the combo that delivers the best result.
- Consider Everywhere: He suggests an Everywhere search on Skyscanner to add some spontaneity, which he says is one of the most searched destinations for Aussies on the site. Sorting the search by price can throw up places you never thought of, and what could be more spontaneous than that?