Flights show Aussies are back on Bali bandwagon

By Mex Cooper

MORE Aussies are taking overseas holidays as cut-price international airfares threaten Geelong’s local tourism market.

Short-term international departures rose more than 13 per cent in 2007, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Figures released this week showed the number of international jet-setters leaving Australia’s shores rose from 374,900 in November 2006 to 429,900 at the same time last year, with most away for between one and two weeks.

The top five destinations were New Zealand, the United States, Thailand, Indonesia and Hong Kong.

The tourism fall-out from the Bali bombings appears to have subsided with Indonesia rising to fourth spot from ninth in 2006 with an increase of nearly 65 per cent in Australian visitors.

Jetstar corporate communications manager Simone Pregellio said the airline believed its introduction of budget overseas fares in November 2006 had contributed to the holiday boom.

She said more than a million people had flown overseas on Jetstar and for 10 per cent it was their first international flight.

Ms Pregellio said demand for flights to Bali had led the airline to add an additional two flights to its schedule.

Geelong Otway Tourism chief executive officer Roger Grant said discounted airfares were a challenge to the local tourism industry.

“It’s a very, very competitive market and it does have an impact on us if people are saying `We can jump on a flight and go to Bali or Vietnam’,” he said.

He said operators needed to ensure they remained competitive by offering quality rather than marketing the region as a cheap destination.

Ms Pregellio said Jetstar’s international flights hadn’t dented its domestic sales.

Source:http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2008/01/17/10585_news.html

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