The number of Britons searching for Australian flights in the past two months has been higher than during the same period in 2019, according to Tourism Australia.
The Australian border reopened in February prompting a “surge” in searches for UK-Australia flights, which has been sustained over the spring and summer, according to regional general manager for Tourism Australia Sally Cope.
She said the number of UK-Australia searches in the past two months have topped 2019 levels, while the conversion of flight searches to bookings stands at 80% of 2019 levels.
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Speaking to Travel Weekly at an industry lunch, Cope said: “The number of people in the UK searching for flights to Australia has been higher in the last couple of months when compared to the same time frame in 2019.
“The number of flight bookings from the UK to Australia is at around 80% of 2019 levels, which is great to see.
“We were confident there would be a surge in bookings as Britons headed to Australia when borders reopened. The UK is a really resilient market and the relationship between the two countries has remained strong throughout the pandemic.”
Additionally, since the borders reopened, the UK has been the number two source market for tourism in Australia, second only to New Zealand.
New South Wales agent general Stephen Cartwright said: “Since the borders reopened, the UK has provided more tourists to the nation than any other country in the world, besides New Zealand.
“Prior to the borders reopening there was some fear that people from the UK would be reluctant to travel to Australia, but that doesn’t appear to have happened which is great.”
Margaret Beazley, governor of New South Wales, urged Britons to return to the region.
She added: “We are now living in a post-pandemic and post-Brexit world and New South Wales is open for business.”