From Local Produce To Open Spaces: 7 Reasons People Are Choosing To Hit The Road In 2021
It’s no secret that road trips are the biggest travel trend coming out of 2020 and continuing into the new year, but what are we travelling for? How are we choosing our destinations? What places are we visiting the most?
Tourism Australia has answered many of these questions by sharing its 2021 travel trends that are predicted to keep growing.
“Australia’s relative isolation from the rest of the world, coupled with our sparsely populated land have never been more precious and desirable amongst travellers,” managing director of Tourism Australia (TA) Phillipa Harrison said.
“Demand for sustainable tourism practices is also increasing, as more and more people acknowledge travel as a positive force for good. Based on COVID-19 and what we saw following the summer bushfires, we anticipate that the wellbeing of people, and our natural environment will be key considerations for many travellers in 2021”.
#1 We’re hitting the road
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This one won’t come as a shock, and we’ve written about it before, but the new TA consumer research just reinforces the notion that road trips are in.
As of October 2020, 55percent of Aussies intended to take an interstate road trip in the next year, and 27 percent of those people wouldn’t have if it was for the whole Covid thing.
Inspiration: How to glamp out your car or van using just 11 essentials.
#2 We’ll be heading to wide-open, remote destinations
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There’s nothing like a worldwide pandemic to make you crave more of the great outdoors and fresh air away from other people. In their most recent consumer research, Tourism Australia discovered that destinations with wide, open spaces make travellers feel safer. There’s also a renewed appreciation for being in nature, which makes sense after we were all cooped up.
Inspiration: These seven underrated NSW road trips you haven’t done yet.
#3 We’ll be seeking to travel better
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This is the best trend to come out of last year, if you ask me. 2020 forced us to consider some ethical travel dilemmas that we’d be putting off, and as a result we’re now looking for brands and experiences that are not only awesome for us, but also do good for the world.
Tourism Australia’s consumer research showed that 91 percent of travellers are doing so to open their minds and increase their knowledge, while 74 percent are actively seeking travel experiences that help them give back to the destination.
Booking.com’s Future of Travel Report showed that 62 percent of responders expect the travel industry to offer more sustainable travel options and over half are considering how to reduce their waste when traveling again.
Inspiration: These five ways to have better, more ethical adventures.
#4 We want to learn more about Australia’s heritage
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The Indigenous cultures of Australia are the oldest living cultures in the world, stretch out over at least the last 60,000 years. With each year, more travellers are realising how incredible this is and are seeking out Indigenous tourism experiences that help them connect with, and learn more about the country’s First Nations People.
According to the National Visitor Survey, about one million Australian travellers joined an Indigenous tourism experience in 2019, up 28 percent from 761,000 travellers in 2018.
Inspiration: These 12 amazing Indigenous-led experiences around the country.
#5 We’re travelling to relax and rejuvenate
Considering how ridiculously stressful 2020 was, it’s no wonder that we’re seeking travel experience to help us feel better. That can be in the form of anything from a multi-day hike to yoga retreats, but the pandemic has boosted our already increasing desire for this kind of holiday.
That same report by Booking.com showed 51 percent of travellers were looking for ‘relaxing trips’, followed by 40 percent who wanted beach holidays. Since the start of the pandemic, searches on the site for hiking grew by 94 percent, nature by 44 percent and relaxation by 33 percent.
Inspiration: These seven eco-friendly resorts that don’t sacrifice the luxury to be good for the planet.
#6 We’re seeking out local produce
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Last year definitely reinforced how important it is to support local, and that’s reflecting in the rising trend of ‘agritourism’. From farm stays and visits, to picking your own fruit, to country experiences, to cafes, experiences showing off Australia’s top notch local produce in intimate and exciting ways are on the rise.
Inspiration: Road trip itineraries perfect for foodies.
#7 We care more about the experience than where we’re going
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We’re no longer particularly fussed about which state or territory we’re going to holiday in, just as long as the experiences we’ll have there are unbeatable. Finally, all those Aussie bucket list items we kept putting off for international travel are getting their time to shine, whether that’s climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge or finally visiting Uluru or the Great Barrier Reef.
Inspiration: Your ultimate 2021 Australian bucket list, you can thank us later.
(Lead Image: Provided / Tourism Australia / tom-archer.com)
