A WEAKER Australian dollar may work in the favour of South-east Asia as travellers from Down Under are now more likely to choose the region over longhaul destinations for their holidays, said Australian buyers at ATF.
Nick Page, managing director of Oasis Travel in Brisbane, said: “We have not seen any ill effects of the falling Aussie dollar, and this works well in our favour as the Asian destinations are relatively cheaper than Europe, the Americas and Africa.”
Tim Lim, general manager of Brisbane-based EC Travel, agreed: “There are a lot of cheap airfares and promotions in South-east Asia that will attract our travellers so the currency issue does not affect them much.”
With Australia comprising 20 per cent of his clientele, Henry Llames, operation manager of Borneo Rainforest Lodge, is optimistic that Borneo’s allure will remain strong.
“Borneo has always been cheaper for travel and they will probably think of us first if they want to find cheaper holidays,” he commented.
As Australian travellers shift their travel choices “closer to home”, Handy Events & Conferences Queensland director, Tony Handy, predicts a 10 per cent rise in demand for South-east Asia in the next two years, as it is “still good value” for Australians to visit countries like Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
CEO & founding director of Victoria-based Adventure Travel, Anthony Hill, said: “Apart from the affordability, South-east Asia is also very attractive because of new attractions opening up in many countries.”
While Thailand remains his top-selling destination, Hill sees the biggest growth in travel bookings to Myanmar as the country is still a novel destination for many Australians.
Vivian Lucero, senior sales manager of Henann Resort in Bohol, the Philippines, said Australia, which is among the property’s top five visitor source markets, has shown a steady year-on-year growth of about 10 per cent and the momentum is likely to continue.
An Australian-based global tours and activities provider, who declined to be named, predicts that in addition to South-east Asia, travel interest will be observed for domestic destinations in Australia and nearby countries like New Zealand and Fiji.
Read more ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) 2016 stories in the digital edition of our Show Dailies here.
