Three of Australia’s leading voices in culture and research — Urban List, Nature, and The Lab — have joined forces to create new joint venture, Urban Insights, aiming to democratise data and empower thousands of Australian businesses with the accessible, actionable intel required to successfully navigate a post-pandemic world.
The first report from the newly formed Urban Insights — Wanderlust Or Wanderbust: Why It’s Time For A New Australian Dream — was released this week, exploring Australians’ complex relationship with domestic tourism and the changes required to deliver the increased bookings the industry needs to survive.
The report reveals that while 84 per cent are excited to see their country, only 1 in 3 plan to invest the same amount of time and money as they would if heading overseas; a challenge the researchers are keen to overcome — supporting the industry to identify new ways to increase the duration, spend and frequency of domestic leisure travel.
Urban List CEO, Susannah George, is optimistic about the idea of a domestic-led recovery and believes that shifts in the way we portray and market our states, regions and experiences is key to the behaviour change.
“There’s undoubtedly a perception gap — a need to overcome our decades-old cultural cringe and shift attitudes so our destinations and tourism operators are sought-after, rather than a second resort,” said George.
“Right now, holidaying here is perceived as a compromise. We need to flip the switch and show Aussies what the rest of the world sees. Something fresh, exotic and untapped.”
Wanderlust Or Wanderbust is the result of extensive qualitative and quantitative research throughout 2020 and 2021, including collecting 1600 consumers’ opinions on current travel marketing campaigns and AI-fuelled analysis of 100,000 social media posts.
Partner and managing director of Nature Sydney, James Jayesuria, has been monitoring changes across the consumer landscape for a decade and believes this report is a milestone piece when it comes to supporting the sector with the data and insights they need to adapt to the new travel economy.
“It can be a complex and often expensive exercise to unearth future-focused insights rather than legacy findings, and yet that style of research is exactly what businesses and brands need — they’re faced with an economic and cultural landscape that is forever changed,” said Jayesuria.
“I am hopeful that these insights are able to steer the tourism sector to bridge the gap with Australian consumers, enabling us all to reappraise the local travel experience and view our culture as one that is every bit worthy of our time and spend,” he said.
