A consumer survey by nib Travel confirms that the vast majority of Australian  travellers are keen to pack their bags and head off on holiday – preferably overseas. The nib Travel survey, part of a global sample of 29,486 travellers conducted in December 2022, shows that  Australians have largely overcome the travel jitters that were evident throughout 2021.

Over 70% of all Australian respondents buying policies from nib Travel Insurance, say they have no concerns about  taking an overseas trip. Only 8.9% cited COVID-19 as a factor in their travel planning, while 4.5% said they were  worried about international border restrictions – down from 33.1% the previous year

nib Travel Chief Executive Officer, Anna Gladman, said the latest survey confirms that Australian travellers may have  overcome any lingering concerns about COVID-19 and the threat of possible border closures.

“We have seen the demand for travel insurance grow substantially this year,” Gladman said. “The fact that all of  our policies include some COVID-19 cover hopefully provides travellers with a further sense of confidence when they  are booking a holiday.”

In the latest survey, 46.6% of the 3,145 nib Travel customers surveyed say they will take at least one major trip this  year, with another 44.5% planning two or three trips, with Japan, Fiji, New Zealand, Bali and Europe as the five most  popular destinations.

Only 10.5% of respondents said they were planning to take four or more trips this year.

When asked what was stopping them from travelling 72.9% replied “nothing” – a turnaround from the 2021 survey  when only 44% ticked the same box.

Affordability continues to a be minor consideration for Australians planning their next trip with only 3.9% of  respondents indicating that they could not afford to travel in the next few months. “Not only has international travel bounced back, this survey suggests that Australians are becoming more daring in  their travel plans, with around 62% indicating that they are looking for new travel destinations,” Gladman said.

The latest results show a huge shift in consumer sentiment from the previous year when far fewer Australians were  happy to book an overseas trip, citing issues such as political and civil unrest and the fear of possible border  restrictions.

Concerns about COVID-19 fluctuated throughout 2021 peaking at the beginning of 2022 when 12.5% said they would  not travel because of the pandemic. In 2021, of those who said they were happy to travel again, the majority (67.9%) expected to book a domestic trip, while only 13.3% were comfortable heading overseas.

Consumer confidence in overseas travel continued to strengthen during the course of 2021 as vaccination rates  increased and international borders re-opened.

By February 2022 the majority of (52.6%) of respondents said they were planning an overseas trip. “These figures suggest that our enthusiasm for ’staycations’ is now normalising, and that overseas travel is firmly back  on the agenda,”  Gladman said.