Fly-drive holidays take off, Melbourne tops the list of destinations

Australia & N.Zealand

An increasing number of Australians are taking advantage of discount domestic airfares by taking a fly-drive holiday (a fly-drive holiday is defined as a holiday where the respondent travelled by…

An increasing number of Australians are taking advantage of discount domestic airfares by taking a fly-drive holiday (a fly-drive holiday is defined as a holiday where the respondent travelled by air and also hired a car or borrowed a car from their friends or relatives) instead of a traditional drive holiday, according to the latest Roy Morgan Single Source data.

Virgin Blue first introduced discount domestic airfares in August 2000, but availability of discounted fares increased following the launch of Qantas low-cost subsidiary Jetstar in May 2004.

The steep increase in petrol prices from January 2004 to September 2006 further encouraged people to fly to their main destination rather than drive.

The percentage of Australians opting to fly-drive on their last domestic holiday has increased from 8% in the year ended June 2001 to 12% in the year ended September 2006.

This is good news for the tourism industry because the fly-drive market takes longer holidays and spends more money. In the year ended September 2006, fly-drive tourists holidayed for an average of eight nights (versus six nights for the total domestic market), and spent $2076 on average (versus $1079).

Melbourne (12%) tops the list of destinations in the fly-drive market, ahead of Sydney and the Gold Coast (both 11%).

The recent boom in domestic VFR (`Visiting Friends and Relatives`) travel has been fuelled by the fly-drive market. With the key routes of airlines being major population centres, fly-drive tourists are taking the opportunity when at these destinations to visit their friends and relatives and engage in the shopping and dining experiences that major cities offer.

How do you reach and communicate with the fly-drive market?

The internet is a vital tool for the fly-drive tourist, with 35% using it when choosing a destination, and 70% when booking their travel. Furthermore, almost three-quarters of fly-drive tourists like to holiday where they can experience nature and/or the local culture.

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