Australia landed at the top of the list of the hottest destinations among luxury travelers in Asia Pacific, according to a new report from Marriott International Luxury Group.
The survey also put data behind other big travel trends in the region, including 91% of respondents saying safety is important for a luxury experience. Fine dining is a major travel draw, with 88% planning trips around food. And Indians emerged as significant drivers of growth in luxury travel, with 89% looking to spend more on their average of six vacations in the next year.
Popular Destinations
The report surveyed high-net-worth individuals in Australia, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia and India, finding a robust 74% planning intra-regional travel in the next 12 months. Australia took the top spot as the most popular destination among 46% of respondents. Japan was close behind at 42%, with Hong Kong at 27%.
Oriol Montal, managing director of Luxury, Asia Pacific (excluding China) at Marriott International, initially found Australia’s pole position surprising. But when he dug into the other findings, he understood the appeal. “We know that luxury travelers are looking for phenomenal hotels, and over the past few years, Australia has been opening great hotels in different destinations,” Singapore-based Montal said.
Marriott is poised to take advantage of the trend, having expanded its footprint on the continent with the notable 2023 openings of The Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne, Australia’s tallest hotel at 80 stories, and W Sydney, a 588-room hotel that’s the largest in the W portfolio.
“One of the things that we saw in that study is the growth and interest in nature, culture and as well,” he said, highlighting the fact that 84% of those surveyed said that being immersed in nature was important when traveling, and 76% said they wanted to see wildlife. “Australia is a paradise for nature and wildlife.”
