Canadian Tourism Commission’s Global Tourism Watch: Australians kept their wanderlust in 2012

Fast-growing outbound travel market sent record numbers of visitors to Canada, says CTC’s latest Global Tourism Watch report.

2013-08-24 — /travelprnews.com/ — While the economic storm raged around the world from 2008, Australia stayed relatively sheltered by high commodity prices and a steady hand at the financial tiller. The ensuing economic growth has been one of the motivators for Aussies to travel, says the new Global Tourism Watch (GTW) summary report by the Research department of the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC).

Some more key facts and figures:

• The outbound travel market in Australia has quadrupled since 2000, making it the world’s 10^thlargest in terms of spending.
• New Zealand is the No. 1 port of call for Aussies on their travels, followed by the UK, the US, Thailand and Singapore. Canada has enjoyed significant growth, too, in recent years.
• The long-haul travel market is expected to have a bumpy ride in 2013, with the Aussie dollar expected to fall almost 9% against the American greenback and 7% against the loonie.
• Australians strongly associate Canada with being a beautiful and friendly country, as well as being top of the class for inspirational geography and a destination worth paying top dollar for.
• Despite a healthy economy, the main stumbling block for Aussies not coming to Canada is concerns over affordability. Other preferred destinations and distance were the next largest barriers cited.
• Recent Aussie visitors to Canada are of a similar feather, with almost half aged 55 or older and a quarter collecting their pensions.
• Trip planning and booking cycles are long in this Down Under market. Travel agents have a big part to play in travel plans, with 50% of Aussies seeking their advice before making a long-haul booking.
• Seeing beautiful scenery, like many other GTW markets, is Canada’s primary draw for Australians. Outdoor activities are popular (although winter activities remain a niche product) and there is growing interest for multi-day guided tours by bus or train.
• Aussie travellers like a broad spread of Canadian provinces: while British Columbia (84%) and Ontario (69%) are the top two in terms of interest for consumers intending to visit Canada in the next two years, Quebec (53%) and Alberta (49%) also have their fair share of admirers.
• Australians who visited countries other than Canada were more likely to use social networks to share images and stories from their trips. Old-fashioned postcards were the second most popular sharing activity for Aussies in Canada to tell their tales.

TNS conducts the Global Tourism Watchsurveys for CTC. The company asks thousands of participants aged 18 and over from around the world for their views on Canada and CTC’s “Canada. Keep Exploring”tourism brand. The 2012 reports look to identify shifts in each market since 2007 via a substantially revised questionnaire.

Read the Global Tourism Watch 2012 Australia summary report.

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