Bookings To Australia Soar As Borders Reopened After Nearly Two Years

Image: The famous Sydney Opera House on Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia. (photo courtesy of Collette) (Provided by Collette)
Image: The famous Sydney Opera House on Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia. (photo courtesy of Collette) (Provided by Collette)
Bruce Parkinson
by Bruce Parkinson
Last updated: 5:36 AM ET, Tue February 22, 2022

Yesterday marked the first time Australia welcomed back vaccinated international travellers after nearly two years of closed borders.

The hope is that the policy change will bring back billions of dollars to the island nation's domestic tourism industry.

Global technology company Travelport, which powers bookings for hundreds of thousands of travel suppliers worldwide, released trend data highlighting how Aussies and the rest of the world are celebrating the occasion.

On February 7, 2022, Australia announced it would reopen its borders to vaccinated travellers as of February 21. On that day, international flight bookings to Australia increased by 93% when compared to the same day the week prior.

-- 75% of international inbound bookings are for leisure travel.

-- Solo travellers made up 35% of all Australian-bound flight bookings, the largest segment. This may largely be comprised of Australian expats eager to return home, no longer needing to endure a mandatory two-week hotel quarantine.

-- Of all future inbound bookings, February 2022 is the most popular month to travel to Australia, making up 45% of all reservations.

-- The top three Australian destinations for international travellers are Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.

-- Travellers are looking to stay longer down under. The average length of an international trip from Australia has increased to 32 days in 2022, ten days longer than the 22-day average in 2019.

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