What’s influencing Aussie travellers?

We all love scoping out travel deals and daydreaming about our next destination, but where are we getting our inspiration from?

Gone are the days of spinning a globe and taking yourself wherever your finger lands.

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Now, we just want to do what the cool kids are doing.

While movies and cultural events used to be the biggest influencer in our travel decisions, the advent of the smartphone has really shaken that up, and considering we can barely take them out of hands, it makes sense.

Move over films and literature, social media has become the biggest motivator in our travel choices.

As the role of social media in travel becomes more understood, new research from online travel insurance provider InsureandGo has uncovered its influence in choosing a holiday destination.

The survey of over 3,100 Australians found that one in 10 (11 per cent) respondents had travelled to a particular destination because of social media, with Asia the most popular destination (33 per cent), followed by Europe (19 per cent) and the USA (18 per cent).

InsureandGo Head of Sales, Digital & Marketing Jonathan Etkind said, “Social media has become a powerful tool for travellers to uncover new and exciting destinations that they may not have previously known about.

“As more travellers are documenting their holidays through social media, it’s only natural that they’re inspiring others to see new destinations.”

Social media was particularly influential with millennials, with one in four (24 per cent) millennials saying that social media influenced their choice of holiday destination and 28 per cent of millennials say that they had been to a destination solely to take a selfie.

“Many millennials are lovers of all things social media so it’s no surprise to see that it plays an important role in choosing a holiday destination.

“What’s interesting though is that more than one in four millennials visited a destination simply to take a selfie, showing their love of taking part in shareable holidays,” Etkind added.

The survey also found that millennials are twice as likely as baby boomers (28per cent vs 14 per cent) to lose or damage their phone or camera while travelling, suggesting that younger travellers are less cautious with their belongings.

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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