Toyota Australia commissioned YouGov survey reveals popularity of local adventures during COVID-19

October 27, 2020

A YouGov online survey commissioned by Toyota Australia - sampling a national representative of 1,052 Australians aged 18 years and older between 3rd and 7th September 2020 - found that eight out of 10 Australians are embarking on thrill-seeking local adventures for their getaways to overcome the pressures and stress caused by the COVID-19 restrictions.

As a nation that loves to travel, the survey revealed a new trend has emerged, with Australians now choosing exciting adventures (79%) such as rock climbing, off-road exploring and wilderness camping, rather than leisure breaks (29%) as their holiday of choice, with two thirds of those doing so as an escape mechanism, during COVID-19 restrictions.

With 52% of Australians planning to travel since the easing of restrictions, couples with no children (85%) and families (81%) are leading the way in choosing thrilling adventure travel for their getaways, creating life-long memories that will be talked about for years to come.

As the nation has taken to exploring what Australia has to offer in our own backyard, Toyota Australia has responded to the huge growth in domestic travel and partnered with state and regional tourism bodies to create the ultimate 'Passport to Adventure' - a guide for intrepid Australians looking to experience newfound pursuits.

Toyota Australia Chief Marketing Officer. John Pappas advises “while 64% of families and 62% of millennials typically travelled overseas prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s great to see the nation embarking on adventure travel and road trips and exploring more of what their own state has to offer.”

Alongside releasing the survey results - Toyota Australia are promoting their new 2020 Toyota HiLux as Australia’s ultimate adventure vehicle.

Among the adventures in the Passport are a four-day trip from Brisbane to the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, taking in a jet ski tour to an offshore sand cay, off-road exploring on Fraser Island and swimming with Manta Rays off Lady Elliot Island, developed in conjunction with the Fraser Coast and Bundaberg Tourism offices. Other Passport adventures include weekend excursions to Mount Buffalo in Victoria for abseiling.

Additional interesting findings in the Survey include:

What Australians currently look to gain from travel are:

• 34% to relieve anxiety and stress and to improve their well-being;
• 28% to support local communities/regional towns that have suffered economically this year;
• 27% to discover places nearby that they had overlooked before;

What Australians have been doing to get their travel fix are:

• 13% have been enjoying the great outdoors including hiking, mountain biking and climbing;
• 8% have been doing relaxation trips involving spa, massage and facials;
• 7% having been taking food and wine trips;

What traditional travel components Australians miss are:

• 55% miss seeing family and friends that don’t live nearby;
• 19% miss flying, wish they could sit on an airplane again;
• 5% miss jet-lag.

Image: A YouGov survey, commissioned by Toyota Australia has revealed eight in 10 Australians are embarking on local adventure travel to escape the pressures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Toyota Australia Disclaimer: Wash the exterior & underside of the vehicle with fresh water immediately after driving through seawater to prevent damage.

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4th March 2019 - International adventure tourism experts to converge on Queenstown

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3rd March 2017 - Conference to explore US$7.88 trillion adventure tourism market

17th November 2016 - Australia and New Zealand ranked among top adventure tourism destinations

30th December 2014 - Queensland entrepreneur launches new adventure tourism insurance company

14th July 2014 - New Zealand must protect its global adventure tourism reputation

13th May 2014 - Adventure tourism conference focuses on change, challenge and opportunity

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