Tasmanian Holiday Travel Trends

Tasmanian Holiday Travel Trends … where are we heading?

Tasmanian Holiday Travel Trends are a microcosm of what is happening in rest of the world. Tourism has been up and down and all over the place since Covid came into our lives. And Tasmania, perhaps moreso than many, as it has such a small local population from which to generate internal business.
As things have started to open up post-Covid, all sorts of new challenges have evolved. Staffing is a big challenge world-wide, and now fuel prices and airline pricings have added to the mix. Horrific stories of cancelled flights and lengthy delays have caused many to pause and adopt a ‘wait and see’ holiday strategy.
The effect on tourism, just as Covid seemed manageable, has been catastrophic.
And now, inflation is rearing its ugly head.
I was interested to read a recent article by Colin Treadwell, writing for USA tour company, Tauck Travel. It gave some insight into where Tasmanian Holiday Travel trends may be heading.
Below is an excerpt, and you can read the entire article in his blog archives.

Travel is Back with a Roar

In 2022, travel came back. Air travel is back to about 70 percent of pre-pandemic levels. Although the pandemic left us with supply chain problems and staffing shortages in 2022, things are hopefully smoothing out for 2023 as businesses regain their stride.
Inflation has hit travel, as it has hit everything else, but people are so determined to get back out there that the increase in prices has not had much noticeable effect on the demand for travel. An equalizing factor is that the dollar is stronger than it’s been for a long time. That gives American travelers more buying power in other countries.
Travelers are becoming more confident about travel again. A study by the travel consortium Virtuoso showed that travelers are now booking farther ahead than they were in 2019. In a survey of travelers by American Express, 50 percent of respondents said they were already planning their summer 2023 vacations before the end of 2022. This is all feel-good news.