Distribution system

Australia is a long haul, complex destination for UK travellers to book. As such, consumers tend to rely on travel professionals for advice when planning a holiday itinerary. Online booking channels remain popular with savvy consumers, particularly for VFR travellers. According to the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) Travel Trends Report 2023, people are 36% more likely to book with a travel professional now than before the pandemic. Among the top reasons for using a travel expert are getting the security of a package holiday (45%), up-to-date advice (38%) and good value for money (31%). Equally, 59% of people now say that the sustainability credentials of their holiday provider are important to them when planning a trip and many will now be factoring that into their holiday decision-making process.

This is also evident for high value and luxury holidays to destinations such as Australia. Long haul specialists, such as Trailfinders and Flight Centre, continue to play a key role in converting consumers and influencing them to spend more, travel widely and stay longer. They also encourage customers to pre-book more ground components thus boosting overall spend, length of stay and dispersal. 

Tour operators

Commission level: up to 20%

• Tour Operators vary from traditional wholesalers to companies that combine various wholesale, direct, online and retail channels.
• There are more than 50 tour operators selling Australia throughout the UK, however a large proportion of sales to Australia are handled by a few key specialist long-haul Tour Operators.
• Trailfinders and Flight Centre are major retail, long-haul specialist tour operators for Australia. Other operators sending significant numbers of passengers to Australia include Travelbag, Audley Travel, the Lotus Group/DialAFlight and Travel Counsellors.
• The key traditional wholesalers include Gold Medal Travel Group (dnata) and If Only (for B2B luxury sales).

Retail agents

Commission level: up to 10%

• Retail agents generally have a basic knowledge of Australia, largely due to the Commonwealth, sporting and historic ties that Australia shares with Britain as well as the regular mainstream media coverage of the destination.
• With nearly 500 stores, Hays Travel is the largest retail chain in the UK and are considered the largest business development opportunity for the UK market.
• Working closely with retail consortia The Advantage Travel Partnership allows Tourism Australia to reach in excess of 750 independent agency members across the UK with clear Australia messaging.   

Online

• Direct flights and accommodation bookings make up most sales through Online Travel Agencies (OTAs), a channel favoured by the VFR market, or those familiar with Australia.
• Compared to the specialist Tour Operators, OTAs have a limited capability to transact complete itineraries for holidays in Australia. True dynamic packaging cannot be purchased online through any OTA.
• The major UK OTAs are Expedia, Opodo, Kayak, Booking.com, Skyscanner and Netflights (dnata).

Aussie Specialists

• The Aussie Specialist Program (ASP) is the primary platform for Tourism Australia to train and develop front line travel sellers to best sell Australia.
• There are over 3200 qualified Aussie Specialists in the UK. This includes 101 ‘Premier Aussie Specialists’, recognised with Premier status for their extensive knowledge of the destination, commitment to selling Australia and ongoing learning via the Aussie Specialist Program.

Inbound Tour Operators

Commission level: up to 30%

• There are several Inbound Tour Operators (ITOs) active in the UK market, these include: ATS Pacific/AOT Inbound, Pan Pacific, Southern World, ANZCRO, and Goway. In addition, The Tailor, Southern Crossings, Beyond the Blue and Alquemie target the luxury sector.

Trends

Distribution

• Australia is a key destination for specialist long-haul Tour Operators and Aussie Specialist travel agents due to the complexity and high value of the destination.
• Distribution partners remain important in influencing consumers to spend more, disperse further, stay longer and pre-book more ground components.
• To adapt to the changing distribution landscape, major retail agencies have invested in direct selling channels, such as call centres and online booking sites. For long haul travel, retail agents remain an important channel for consumers and although vertical integration, consolidation and globalisation continue to be key trends, high street retail agencies are growing in number post-COVID with Trailfinders and Flight Centre opening new stores in strategic, high yielding locations across the country.
• Independent home working is also increasing in the UK, particularly through the likes of Travel Counsellors. This allows agents the flexible working conditions required by many to return to work post-pandemic. 

Planning and purchasing travel

• The total trip spend on leisure travel to Australia by the Brits was AUD$3.2 billion in 2023, growing by 84% compared to 2022, while the average trip spend was AUD$3,116, growing by 22% compared to 2022 (Source: IVS 2023).
  
• In terms of booking channels, research shows there remains a reliance on retail agents for long haul holidays as British consumers look for more protection. Offline travel agents remain the top method for those who would book a trip to Australia, with 50 per cent nominating to book their trip with a high-street travel agency. Booking through an OTA is the second most popular booking method, closely followed by booking directly with an airline.
• Australia has traditionally had long lead booking times due to the perceived complexity of the purchase in terms of time, cost and distance. With continuing uncertainty around travelling post-pandemic, fluctuating exchange rates and volatile pricing in the market, lead times for booking all international travel, including Australia, has become more unpredictable.

Special interest

• The youth travel market continues to readjust after the loss of the STA Travel brand from the market in 2020. Current operators specialising in youth travel include Trailfinders, Student Universe, JENZA (USIT/BUNAC) and Gap360. Kilroy, the largest youth agency in Northern Europe has recently opened its first retail store in the UK with plans to open several more.
• Key operators specialising in the luxury sector include Abercrombie & Kent, Elegant Resorts, Original Travel, Carrier, Scott Dunn, ITC and Turquoise Holidays, many of whom are members of the luxury consortia, Serandipians by Traveller Made and Virtuoso.

Planning a visit to market

Top tips for sales calls

• The best time of year for sales calls is March to June and October to November. Try to avoid the UK summer holiday period from mid-June to the end of August and the peak booking period of January and February.
• The key region to visit is London and the South East, with most specialist operators to Australia located in or around this region. Gold Medal Travel is in Preston, whilst operators focused on high-end holidays are based in the London, Chester, and Cheltenham areas.
• For more general information on sales calls and planning a visit to market, please see Tourism Australia’s 'Tourism Export Toolkit'.