We all know Aussies have a great appetite for overseas travel but data shows that they still love a domestic holiday. Roy Morgan stats from earlier this year revealed that 57% of Aussies are planning an interstate trip in the next 12 months, up from 52% a year ago.
Poor Victoria has struggled to capitalise on those intentions in recent years. Visit Victoria’s funding has remained at the same vastly reduced level it was allocated by the state government last year, and according to insights from marketing agency Scooter, four in five tourism operators in the state believe that a strain on budget will likely be a challenge in 2026.
Meanwhile, almost half of those operators are concerned about losing out to other states when it comes to attracting visitors due to reduced state-led consumer campaigns.
This week’s new Visit Victoria strategy cannot come soon enough.
Travel Daily Editor Adam Bishop flew into Melbourne for the Destination Victoria conference on Wednesday, where Visit Victoria CEO Brendan McClements shared its five-year strategy, Visit Victoria 2030, which aims to grow the state’s visitor economy to over $53 billion within the next five years.
According to the strategy, Visit Victoria’s guiding principles will focus on collaboration between government, industry and communities, sustainable growth, First Nations tourism and accessibility and inclusion.
Meanwhile, its competitive strengths lie in its events calendar, food and drink culture, creativity, diversity and its growing spa and wellness sector.
Interestingly, the strategy also mentions Victoria’s renewed partnership with China, which is a priority international market for the state, driving visitation from its current 443,800 travellers each year to 797,600 by 2029.
Visit Victoria will focus on growing the three big key markets: international (by focusing on high-yield travellers, aviation access, international distribution and regional dispersal), interstate (through marketing itself as a culinary, cultural and events capital) and intrastate (by strengthening perceptions of regional areas among all generations).
It’s been a tough road for Victoria since COVID, and hopefully the renewed strategy will help pull the state through its current challenges. We’ll keep you posted on how it tracks.
In other news, the team sent out several breakers this week, including the exciting launch of CVFR Holidays, a new white-label offering from a partnership between Luxury Escapes and CVFR.
Agents will be able to access book-and-hold functionality, direct quote sharing, commissionable tours and cruises, flight ticketing and more.
It’s particularly noteworthy, as Luxury Escapes is currently showing lots of love for travel agents. In August, it even hosted its first travel agent roadshow in an effort to express its commitment to the industry.
Meanwhile, APT Travel Group’s Travelmarvel announced the launch of its brand refresh this week, with a new logo and new slogan (‘Travelmarvel, my style’) to visually reflect its “balance of curated experiences and personal choice”. It comes off the back of other recent movements within the Travelmarvel business, including its return to Egypt on board new ship Travelmarvel Sirius, as well as its expansion into small group touring.
We also announced news of Alliance aviation founder Scott McMillan stepping down from his role as Joint Managing Director, with his colleague Stewart Tully taking over as sole MD.
Actually, speaking of airlines, new Saudi-backed carrier Riyadh Air will be taking off on its debut flight to Heathrow on 26 October, with potential to expand to Australia once it has enough aircraft under its belt. Watch this space.
Meanwhile, Emirates recently unveiled a raft of updates to its onboard services for passengers with accessibility requirements. These include the new online Accessible and Inclusive Travel Hub, which travellers can use pre-departure to tailor their journey to their needs, such as booking special assistance to help them through the airport.
Onboard, the carrier now offers sensory products and fidget toys for those with neurodivergent needs and in business class, a new ‘mattress hood’ to securely fit the seat, similar to a bedsheet – this means travellers with mobility issues will not need to be disturbed or relocated mid-flight.
From the skies and onto train tracks, high-speed rail will make its way to India, with a section of the first route linking Mumbai and Ahmedabad to open in 2027. Meanwhile, Japan has inked a deal to provide two of its Shinkansen bullet trains to India to operate the route, cutting travel between the cities from six hours to two.
Cruise Weekly Editor Myles Stedman had a chat with Carnival Cruise Line Country Manager Peter Little about what’s needed in Australia for the industry to meet challenges head-on.
“Australia is an ecosystem, so all the states and territories need to work together to continue to grow cruise,” he said.
“Ultimately, Australia is not competing with itself internally, Australia is competing on a global scale to attract business, so it’s in the best interest to work collectively…some states are all really onto that and getting the message, but there’s a bit of work to be done in other areas, including the federal area.”
Those were a handful of the major headlines from us this week. I look forward to catching up with you all again next week.
