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With the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in full swing, here are some exclusive data-driven insights about global travel trends to the host countries Australia and New Zealand.
According to FIFA, the Women’s World Cup has already surpassed one million tickets sold, potentially making it the most attended standalone women’s sporting event. Here are some interesting top-level takeaways:
Increased Travel to Australia and New Zealand: In 2023, there has been a noticeable surge in travellers to Australia and New Zealand between mid-July and early August, coinciding with the World Cup dates (July 20 to August 20), compared to 2019.*
East Asia and Western Europe Travel Recovery: Although East Asia and Western Europe’s outbound travel to Australia and New Zealand has not yet fully recovered to its pre-COVID levels, there are encouraging signs. The total percentage of travellers from East Asia has risen to 35% during the World Cup season compared to 28% before the season. Similarly, there has been an increase to 17% (from 14%) from Western Europe, in travellers coming to Australia and New Zealand.**
Growth in Specific Markets: Japanese travellers have shown remarkable interest, with more than double (6% vs. 2%) the number of travellers to Australia and New Zealand during the World Cup season compared to the non-World-Cup season of the same year. There is also a noticeable increasing intent for travellers from China (16% vs. 15%) and South Korea (5% vs. 4%) during the tournament.
Top Feeder Markets: During the World Cup season, the top Western Europe feeder markets to the host countries are the UK (6%), Germany (2%), France (2%), and Italy (2%).
Traveller Profiles: The World Cup season has seen a higher proportion of couples (24% vs. 19%) and families (23% vs. 21%) among the total travellers compared to before the season.
Despite Latin America (LATAM) being one of the top origin markets for last year’s 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, there’s no obvious increase in travel from Latin America for this year’s women’s tournament, despite football being a nationwide sport in the region.
