Australia is emerging as a key player in the luxury travel resurgence across the Asia-Pacific region, according to insights shared at International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) Asia Pacific 2025.
Opening the annual event at the Ritz-Carlton in Singapore, Visa Asia Pacific Principal Economist Simon Baptist offered a data-driven analysis of regional economic dynamics. And while the overall picture was somewhat more subdued than previous years, it remains a positive one.
“Asia, for a long time, has been the world’s fastest growing region, and that is going to stay the case,” he told delegates.
At the core of this continued growth is a significant rise in the number of affluent individuals, driven by urbanisation, internationalisation and government reform across the region.
However, Baptist cautioned that the region now faces headwinds, citing “the big slowdown in China,” “higher interest rates,” and “changing geopolitics” as the three primary challenges.
In this shifting landscape where former high-growth markets show signs of starting to plateau, Australia stands out.
“One exception is Australia, where the travel growth is continuing to happen at an accelerating rate,” Baptist said. This resilience is supported further by Australia’s unique position as a beneficiary of immigration, which is bolstering domestic market growth in contrast to the population shrinkage seen in Japan, Korea, and China.
Meanwhile, Visa’s research highlighted that affluent spending in Asia Pacific is rising sharply, by 20% year-on-year among high-net-worth individuals. While Australia has long been the “biggest source of high-net-worth individuals in this region,” China has now taken the lead. Nevertheless, Australia’s luxury market remains vibrant, buoyed by its growing, diverse population and appetite for premium travel experiences.
Spending patterns vary across the region, with Chinese travellers prioritising recreation, and Indian travellers leaning toward luxury retail. Australians favour spending on accommodation when travelling, showing a strong preference for premium stays.
This variation has important implications for Australia’s inbound and outbound travel industries. As Australians increasingly travel abroad, their high per-trip spend, estimated at around $3,000, makes them a valuable market for international destinations.
Even as e-commerce reaches a maturity point globally, Baptist noted that “luxury is a very unique category when it comes to online spend.” The research showed that Aussies, along with those with a surprising number of APAC markets, are increasingly making their luxury purchases offline, driven by a need for trust and experience. With the emotional value of purchases paramount, high-touch service and brand authenticity were identified as crucial, both online and offline, to attract affluent clients.
With 48% of the world’s new affluent expected to come from Asia Pacific in the next five years and a projected $2.14 trillion in new addressable market value, Australia is strategically positioned to capitalise on the opportunities at hand, with the appeal of its natural beauty amplified by its proximity to high-growth outbound markets like China, India, and Southeast Asia.
Image by: beasternchen, Pixabay
