I’ll HAVE MY AVOCADO ON TOAST, AND A HOLIDAY TOO

It’s not just millennials who are aiming to have it all with a new poll commissioned by the Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF) showing that Baby Boomers and Generation X have almost doubled their summer vacation spending habit in a year.

According to the Australia-wide survey by pollster Nielsen, a fifth of Aussies aged between 35-44 years plan to spend between $2000 and $5000 on their summer holiday this year, compared to 11 per cent last year. 14 per cent of 45-54 year olds are also in this category, up from 8 per cent in 2017.

The biggest hike in summer spending comes from Aussie Baby Boomers of whom a whopping 25 per cent said they would spend $2000 – $5000 on their upcoming summer break, almost tripling their spend from 8 per cent last year.

TTF Chief Executive Margy Osmond said the results reflect record visitor spending by Australians recently published by Tourism Research Australia, with Aussies spending upwards of $67.5 billion, an increase of 8 per cent, in the last financial year.

“What is interesting is that almost 50 per cent of Aussies are choosing to take their December / January overnight trip within the State they reside in or interstate, which demonstrates a growing demand for holiday-makers wanting to stay and play in Australia this summer,” Ms Osmond said.

“Australia has one of the most unique and pristine environments in the world and these results show us that Australians are capitalising on what is on offer in our own backyard.

“There is a clear upward trend towards activities that involve the coast and experiencing the great outdoors, with a drop nationally from 33 per cent in 2018 to 25 per cent in 2019 of the number of people indicating that they would holiday in a city environment.

“The survey results show that 44 per cent of men are likely to stay with friends or relatives when holidaying this summer, while 43 per cent of women opting to stay in commercial accommodation property.

“Australians who holiday at home put money straight into the back pockets of local tourism workers, boost regional economies right across the country and support jobs growth,” Ms Osmond said.