Digital footprints: Discovering online traveler needs in Australia and New Zealand

This research gives a fresh snapshot of traveler behavior and sentiment in Australia and New Zealand

Taking the time to analyze and discern travelers’ needs and responding accordingly is essential. Our objective in producing this report is to help online travel agencies visualize themselves as the traveler and follow in their footsteps as they chart a course along a shifting online landscape.

Although this research was conducted prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, it still provides a solid foundation for understanding traveler behavior and sentiment in Australia and New Zealand.Key findings include:

The deciding factor

Despite the ever-increasing impact of online influencers, it appears that over half of Australian and New Zealand consumers prefer to take recommendations from friends and family. A majority (51%) of adults surveyed in Australia and New Zealand tend to make their travel destination decisions based on advice from friends and family. Next in line is the influence of travel blogs and websites with 30%.

Of the almost one third of consumers whose travel destination decisions are influenced by social media influencers, 70% turn to Facebook, with 65% getting inspired on Instagram and 49% watching YouTube. A strong 72% think the information supplied by influencers around holiday destinations is reliable, however those in Australia think the information supplied by influencers is more reliable than those in New Zealand (76% vs 67%).

How long does it take to book a trip?

The research reveals that those adults surveyed initially start researching their destination an average of 4 months before a shorter trip of less than 10 days and an average of 6 months before a longer journey.

It would appear that advances in technology, including reliability of data and improvements in user experience have seen an improvement in terms of speed of booking. Around 27% of those surveyed suggest researching and booking online travel takes them less time than it did two years ago, compared to the 24% who say it takes them more time. In terms of visiting travel sites when planning a trip, simple flight-only trips were revealed to be the quickest to research with an average of 3 websites visited. This slightly increases for trips with a flight plus hotel where 4 sites are visited on average. Perhaps indicative of too much choice, or an issue that the travel industry continues to grapple with - content fragmentation.

Download the report to learn more.

Sebastien Gibergues
Vice President,
Online Travel Asia Pacific,
Amadeus

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