There are two types of travellers in this world: spenders, and savers. The first category lives it up while on vacation, staying in the fanciest hotels and splurging on spa trips, helicopter rides and bougie bottles of Champagne. The latter hunts for the best flight deals to budget-friendly destinations, perhaps saving up for a snow globe to take home. Curious about which category your fellow Aussies fit into? We’ve got the results – and they’re quite eye opening.
A recent report revealed that Australians are the world’s biggest spenders when travelling overseas. Yikes! This is according to data collected by e-commerce platform Merchant Merchant from the UN World Tourism Organisation, which ranked 94 countries on their average individual spend per trip abroad (this was calculated by dividing the total outbound expenditure for each country by the total departures).
Sure, Australia has its fair share of budget travellers, but the stats suggest that the majority of Aussies who can afford to travel overseas will prioritise doing it in the bougiest way possible – with the average traveller spending more than $4,600 while overseas. Reality check: that’s nearly double what the average Brit ($1,737) or New Zealander ($2,366) forks out. While the impact of cozzy livs is affecting the way that many Aussies are spending, we do have one of the largest populations of millionaires Down Under, so their spending likely boosts our national average.
Two other Oceanic countries ranked second and third, with South Korea averaging $4,565 on vacations abroad and Singapore averaging $4,454. A study by Expedia found that South Koreans take the fewest days of annual leave globally, likely explaining their higher spending during holiday periods. In Europe, Icelanders topped the ranking in holiday spending, coming in fourth place overall with an average individual spend of $3,707 on vacations abroad. This checks out as Iceland boasts the second-highest salary of any European country, meaning they have more disposable income to spend while on vacay.
Thinking of visiting Australia? We’ve got plenty of places for you to splash some cash. From spectacular skiing resorts and magical remote islands to incredible overnight train journeys and exotic cruises, we think a holiday here is worth every cent.
Here are the ten countries that spend the most on vacations abroad:
- Australia
- South Korea
- Singapore
- Iceland
- Portugal
- Taiwan
- Norway
- Indonesia
- Brazil
- China
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