Australians turn to travel sites ahead of summer, Ipsos iris data shows

Nearly 19 million Australians visited a travel website or app in October as summer holidays approach, according to new Ipsos iris data.

The monthly snapshot shows 18.8 million people, or 85% of Australians aged 14 and over, engaged with online travel content last month. Time spent with travel sites hit 54 minutes per month, up as the overall category grew 4.5% year on year.

The biggest jump came from automotive transportation platforms, which climbed 14.7% in October. Online travel was up 11.6%, airlines rose 9.2% and travel news increased 7.8%. Ipsos’ definition covers everything from rideshare and public transport to hotels, home sharing, airlines, cruises and overseas travel.

Women spent slightly longer with travel content at 57 minutes, compared with 51 minutes for men. They were also more likely to visit hotel and home-sharing sites. Men skewed toward rail and train categories.

People aged over 40 remain the most engaged travel audience, averaging 59 minutes a month. The over-40s segment is 2.5 times larger than the under-40s cohort, reaching 29.5% of the population versus 11.9%.

Online news consumption also climbed, rising 2.4% year on year to reach 21.1 million Australians, or 95.5% of the online population. Australians spent an average of 3.27 hours with news websites and apps in October, on par with last year.

Local news consumption was driven by the search for missing four-year-old Gus Lamont in outback South Australia, the Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban separation, the stabbing in Melbourne’s CBD, The Block finale and major sport including the NRL Grand Final, AFL and NRL trades and the Dally M red carpet.

Global attention was shaped by the death of actor Diane Keaton, Hurricane Melissa hitting Jamaica, ongoing controversies surrounding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and coverage of hostage releases during the Gaza ceasefire.

Career, Homes and Property and Automotive delivered the strongest year-on-year growth across all website and app categories, up 11.8%, 10.2% and 8.7% respectively. Lifestyle rose 6.9% and Energy Suppliers/Utilities increased 5.8%.

Ipsos iris reports that 22.1 million Australians aged 14+ were online in October, spending an average of 4.68 hours per day on digital platforms. Search, social networking, technology, online media and retail remained the most-consumed categories.