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• Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs

The Hon Tim Watts MP

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Make Smartraveller your first destination

• Media Release

Today the Australian Government is launching its new Smartraveller campaign, encouraging Australian travellers to make Smartraveller their first destination.

Each month, there are more than 1 million departures from Australia and, at any point in time, there are around 1,250 cases of Australians needing help overseas.

The best way to stay safe is to be prepared.

Whether you're a first-time or regular traveller, going on holiday, to visit family, or travelling for business, it's important that you are fully prepared.  

Smartraveller has travel and cultural advice for over 175 destinations. You can subscribe to get the latest advice and alerts for your destinations.

Before planning your trip, check whether you have a valid passport, look into visa requirements, get the right travel insurance and, most importantly, read and subscribe to Smartraveller.

Many Australians are excited at the prospect of travelling again. So don't trip up on your next trip. Make Smartraveller your first destination.

For more information visit Smartraveller.gov.au

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Planning your overseas trip

Research your destination.

It’s a good idea to research your destination before you book your travel, so you know what to expect when you get there. On the Smartraveller website, you can use the destination finder to search for travel advice for more than 175 worldwide locations. Travel advisories include important information about:

• safety \r\n
• visa requirements
• local contacts.

Sign up for updates \r\n

Subscribe to email updates or push notifications for a destination on Smartraveller. These updates will let you know if there’s a change to a destination’s travel advice that may affect your trip. Find out more about subscription services on the Smartraveller website.

Keep copies of your documents

Consider making copies of your important documents. You may need them if something goes wrong while you’re overseas. You may also like to share the copies with someone you trust at home. Documents you should keep copies of include your:

• passport \r\n
• travel insurance policy
• driver licence and international driving permit
• travel itinerary
• emergency contacts
• International COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate.

Things to organise before you go \r\n

Find out what you need to organise before travelling overseas.

Sign up for updates

Things to organise before you go, what to organise before travelling, health considerations before travelling, organise your finances before travelling, accessing mygov while overseas, thank you for your feedback.

Your guide to the structures , organisations and key people in the Australian Government

• Foreign Affairs and Trade
• Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
• Key Contacts

Travel Advice - Smart Traveller

• Travel advisories from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade we deliver a range of consular services for Australians travelling or living overseas. We deliver our services through Australian embassies, high commissions and consulates overseas. ___________________________________________________________________________ • Smartraveller provides official overseas travel advice. Our travel advice aims to inform you of the risks and how to avoid or handle difficulties overseas. Ultimately, though, it’s advice only and the decision to travel is yours. It’s also your responsibility to take care of your safety and wellbeing. ___________________________________________________________________________ • If you, or someone you know, needs urgent help or you have significant welfare concerns, emergency consular assistance is available 24 hours a day by calling the Consular Emergency Centre (CEC) in Canberra on: 1300 555 135 (within Australia) +61 2 6261 3305 (from overseas) ___________________________________________________________________________ • For non-urgent general enquiries, email [email protected]. 1300 555 135 http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/ Emergency consular assistance is available 24 hours Last updated: 19 November 2021

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Smartraveller: your first destination

Smartraveller, the government’s official travel and cultural advice service for Australian travellers, today released its latest advertising campaign.

With more than 1 million monthly departures from Australia, the Smartraveller campaign aims to help all Australians travelling overseas to be as prepared as possible by visiting the website and subscribing to updates.

From passports, visas and travel insurance, through to detailed travel and cultural advice on over 175 destinations, Smartraveller has the information Australians need to plan their overseas trip and make informed choices throughout their journey. Even if you’ve travelled before or travel overseas regularly, it’s important to stay up to date with the latest information.

Travel and cultural advice is also  available in seven languages , including Indonesian, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Thai and Vietnamese.

The message is simple – if you’re planning to travel, make Smartraveller your first destination .

Go to Smartraveller.gov.au , read and act on the travel advice, subscribe for updates, and follow Smartraveller on social media.

Safe travels!

Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care

Smartraveller

Visit the Smartraveller website regularly to check for international developments and subscribe to updates.

• Immunisation
• Travel health

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Travel Advice: Important information about cover for Coronavirus. Read more . View the latest travel warnings here .

Bon Voyage from the Aussie Government! How To Work Smartraveller.gov.au on your next overseas trip.

Smartraveller is a travel advisory and consular assistance service created by the Australian government. The site provides travel advice for countries and events, guidance about travel insurance and staying safe and healthy, and getting help overseas.

Travel advisory by email.

Accidents happen, even on holiday. Sometimes those accident occur on a national level, such as a natural disaster or political unrest. Keeping yourself in the know is super important as information is key, never more so that when the country you’re visiting is experiencing a major incident or freak weather event.

Subscribe to Smartraveller travel advisories for the destinations you intend to visit and receive alerts, via email, each time the travel advice for one of your destinations is updated.

TRAVEL TIPS BY COUNTRY

The Smartraveller site offers travel tips and information covering a range of issues including advice for when things go wrong, staying safe and healthy, foreign laws, and living and working overseas. Do the groundwork by  browsing countries by region  or searching Smartraveller’s  list of all countrie s  and popular Aussie destinations below:

• China (People’s Republic of)
• New Zealand
• Papua New Guinea
• Philippines
• South Africa
• United Kingdom
• United States of America

A visa, also referred to as a tourist visa, is an endorsement on a passport indicating that the holder is allowed to enter, leave, or stay for a specified period of time in a country where they are not a citizen or resident. Some countries require Australian travellers to carry visas, while some do not. Only the countries you plan to visit can provide up-to-date information about their visa requirements or visa-waiver programs.

Well before cabbing it to the airport, contact the nearest embassy or consulate of the countries you intend to visit.

• Foreign embassies in Australia (Canberra)
• Foreign consulates in Australia by country

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What Are Smartraveller Travel Advisories?

What are Australian Government travel warnings and what do they mean?

• Smartraveller Travel Advisories Explained

What are Smartraveller travel advisories?

The Australian Government uses a rating system with four levels to represent the potential dangers of travelling to a particular country or region.

• Level 1 - Exercise normal safety precautions
• Level 2 - Exercise a high degree of caution
• Level 3 - Reconsider your need to travel
• Level 4   - Do not travel

The purpose of the scale is to assist travellers to stay safe by making them aware of the threats they may face at that destination, as well as highlighting areas that are clearly not safe for travel.

E XERCISE NORMAL SAFETY PRECAUTIONS

Level one indicates no current significant threats in these regions. Travellers can generally expect a stable and secure environment similar to Australia with functioning law and order, comparable healthcare and responsive emergency services.

Will travel insurance cover me in an ‘Exercise normal safety precautions’ region?

Yes, travel insurance will cover you for travel in these regions, subject of course to the terms and conditions of the individual policy.

Health and safety tips for ‘ Exercise normal safety precautions ’ travel destinations:

• Respect local laws and customs which may be very different to home.
• Use your common sense and exercise standard safety precautions.
• Be aware you may still be at risk of petty crime such as theft and scams.
• Keep in mind   terror attacks   and other threats can still occur anywhere and at any time.
• Monitor media and   Smartraveller   for any changes to local conditions.
• Consider purchasing travel insurance that covers medical expenses and all of the   activities   you want to do on your holiday.

EXERCISE A HIGH DEGREE OF CAUTION

Travelling to a country with a cautionary level warning is still considered relatively safe, but indicates a higher level of risk than what you would typically expect at home.

This could be due to a temporary event such as a political protest or a short-term increase in the region’s domestic security threat. It could also indicate a higher risk of crime, unreliable law enforcement and/or a lower standard of healthcare and emergency services.

Will travel insurance cover me in an ‘Exercise a high degree of caution’ region?

Most travel insurance policies will still cover travel to destinations at this level, subject of course to the terms and conditions of the individual policy.

Health and safety tips for ‘ Exercise a high degree of caution ’ travel destinations:

• Research specific threats and take extra precautions.
• Seek medical advice about   vaccinations   and general health risks in this region.
• Pay close attention to your personal safety at all times.
• Be vigilant and monitor local media as the level may indicate instability in the region.
• Be aware that security conditions may change quickly with little warning.
• Consider purchasing an   international travel insurance   that covers medical evacuation and repatriation if you need to be transported home for emergency treatment.

level three

Reconsider your need to travel.

A level three travel warning means that there are dangerous and potentially life-threatening risks in these regions. These could include an ongoing threat of terrorism, current civil unrest, a high occurrence of violent crime or other serious health and safety concerns. It may also be due to a temporary but significant event such as a natural disaster.

If a country is listed as ‘reconsider your need to travel’, it means the Australian Government considers the destination to be unsafe for most travellers and recommends cancelling or deferring your trip if possible.

Will travel insurance cover me in a ‘Reconsider Your Need to Travel’ region?

Some travel insurance policies will still cover travel to destinations at this level, subject of course to the terms and conditions of the individual policy.

Health and safety tips for ‘ Reconsider Your Need to Travel ’ destinations:

• As the warning says: reconsider any non-essential travel to these regions.
• Research the specific threats and dangers you may encounter.
• Consider the location and security of your planned accommodation.
• Consider how you will travel within the region as public transport may not be the safest option.
• Discuss contingency arrangements and have an emergency response plan.
• Ensure that you’re able to depart independently and that your travel documentation is up-to-date.
• You’ll likely require a specialised insurance policy for travel to these destinations.

DO NOT TRAVEL

If a country is on the ‘Do Not Travel’ list it means the Australian Government believes it to be extremely dangerous and you should   NOT   travel to that destination.

This may be due to a very high risk of terrorist attacks, ongoing armed conflict, or critical levels of violent crime or violent unrest. It is often also a combination of these factors.

While it’s not illegal to travel to a country on the ‘Do not travel’ list, it’s certainly   not   advisable. The Australian Government doesn’t issue these warnings lightly, so if you travel against the advisory you are knowingly putting yourself at a very high level of risk.

If you’re already in a country that is upgraded to a ‘Do Not Travel’ status, you should consider leaving immediately.

Will travel insurance cover me in a ‘Do Not Travel’ region?

Most travel insurers will   not   cover you for travel to countries listed as ‘Do Not Travel’.

If a region you intend to visit is upgraded to this level   after   you have purchased a policy, you may have provision to claim for   cancellation   expenses or the costs involved in delaying your holiday until it’s safe to travel again.

Refer to your travel insurance Product Disclosure Statement so you know exactly what is and isn’t covered before making a purchase.

Health and safety tips for ‘ Do Not Travel ’ destinations:

• The safest option is to avoid travelling to these regions at all costs.
• If you choose to travel despite the advisory, exercise extreme caution and consider seeking professional security advice and hiring personal protection.
• Make contingency arrangements and have a detailed emergency evacuation plan in place.
• Know that the Australian government is unlikely to be able to assist your evacuation if a crisis occurs.
• Check if you will require a special visa or permission to enter or leave the country.
• Keep in mind it may be very difficult and dangerous to cross borders in or out of these areas.

How do travel warnings affect my travel insurance?

Your policy may exclude cover for regions that have a “Do Not Travel” or “Reconsider Your Need To Travel” rating. Visit Smartraveller.com.au to check the rating level of the country you intend to travel to, and ask your travel insurer what they cover.

Keep in mind that travel warning levels may vary across different regions within the same country.

A country may have an overall travel warning of Level 1 or Level 2 but some specific regions within the country may have a higher travel warning of Level 3 or 4. Ensure that you check the travel warning for all the regions that you’ll be travelling to, and ask your travel insurer if you’ll be covered should you travel to those regions.

It's also important to check for any terrorism-related exclusions or limits for:

• Medical benefits
• Evacuation and repatriation
• Cancellation
• Travel delays
• Alternative transport
• Accidental death and disability

Each travel insurance policy will have different exclusions and benefits, so make sure you consider the Product Disclosure Statement carefully to understand what is and isn’t covered before you make a purchase.

What events can affect the levels of travel advice?

Travel warnings are issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) , who consider any potential risks which might affect a traveller’s health, safety and security overseas.

These can include potential dangers such as:

• Threat of terrorist attack
• Violent crime
• Cyclone, hurricane or tornado
• Epidemics and pandemics
• Political unrest
• Riots and civil unrest

While your safety is ultimately your own responsibility when travelling overseas, the advisory may assist travellers to make informed decisions and avoid, minimise or prepare for potential threats overseas.

Why do travel warnings affect my travel insurance?

Travellers pay a premium upfront to insure themselves against potential expenses if something unexpected happens. In a simplistic sense, this money all goes into a ‘pool’ which is then used to pay out claims if something unfortunate does happen to someone.

You may have never thought about it this way before, but if you’ve ever had a travel insurance claim paid then you were actually helped by other travellers who you’ve never met!

The reason that travel insurance companies take the Smartraveller advisories into consideration when paying claims is the same as the reason they consider other factors like dangerous activities or intoxication.

If a traveller knowingly puts themselves at a greater risk of injury or illness by participating in high-risk behaviour like drinking to excess or visiting an extremely dangerous location, it wouldn’t be fair to all the other travellers who have also contributed their premiums to the ‘pool’ and who do the right thing to avoid unnecessary risks. Those factors are therefore dealt with in the terms, conditions, limits and exclusions of the Product Disclosure Statement.

If none of these factors were considered when paying claims, the price of insurance premiums would skyrocket for everyone in order to account for all the extra claims needing to be paid.

How do I choose a safe travel destination?

Although you can never be sure that nothing will go wrong when you travel overseas, there are a few steps you can take when planning your trip to minimise your chances of running in trouble on your holiday.

Step 1: Choose a safe destination

A good starting point is to look at a large-scale report like the 2017 Global Peace Index to get an idea of which countries are generally considered to be the safest. Then consider which of those destinations are compatible with the type of trip you want to have or activities you want to do.

Planning a holiday around your priorities will help you to significantly narrow down your destination options. For example, if you want to laze around on the beach and soak up some rays, Portugal is ranked as a much safer option in the index than Greece or Thailand.

For a skiing or snowboarding holiday, Austria, Canada and New Zealand are great options that all made it into the top ten safest countries for 2017.

Check out our article on Terrorism and Travel Insurance to see which other countries made it into the top 10 safest travel destinations, and which are best to avoid.

Step 2: Research your trip

Once you have a few possible destinations in mind, you can do some research on the options that are available to you. Some good places to start include:

• Checking the advisory level on  Smartraveller.gov.au   and reading the travel guides for that destination.
• Reading travel blogs to get first-hand accounts from experienced travellers who have visited that location for advice and itinerary ideas.
• Browsing websites like   Lonely Planet   for more general information and advice.
• Checking reviews on forums like   TripAdvisor   to get an idea of which areas and attractions are safe to visit, accommodation recommendations, as well as places and things to avoid.

Step 3: Book your holiday

Once you have chosen your destination, it’s time to book!

Browse booking websites to see what accommodation options are available and compare prices. These are also generally safer and more secure than booking through small independent tour companies or websites.

Remember to also consider factors such as the location and security of your accommodation, the availability of transport (including how you will get to and from the airport) and only book with recognised and reputable tour companies.

Smartraveller tips to stay up to date with travel alerts:

Conditions can change suddenly no matter where in the world you travel.

To stay up-to-date with the latest travel warnings and advice, Smartraveller recommends that you:

• Download the app
• Register your travel plans
• Get the right travel insurance
• Follow Smartraveller on Facebook and Twitter

Get an instant quote for travel insurance direct from our website now by clicking the button below!

About the author

Alex is a content writer at Fast Cover who inherited the family travel bug at an early age. When she’s not researching and writing guides to help travellers stay safe overseas, she can usually be found gazing out of the nearest window, daydreaming about her next adventure.

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The 'smart' traveller

Speaker: Ian Kemish

AFTA General Conference - Sydney

INTRODUCTION

Thank you for inviting me to speak at the AFTA Conference today.

As the head of the Consular Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, I am pleased to be involved in such a major travel industry forum. I bring with me the best wishes of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Alexander Downer, and the Parliamentary Secretary for the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Bruce Billson.

The Government believes in the value of travel - to Australia and to Australians.

It is important for Australia as a nation and also enriching for Australians, that we have links with other peoples and other nations.

• travel adds to the fabric of relationships with our neighbours through greater understanding
• people to people links - an often used phrase, but not simply rhetorical - the value of these is real - in a commercial sense, in a political sense and in a cultural sense.

Australians are travelling in unprecedented numbers - passport applications received over the past 12 months have increased by 17%.

In terms of actual numbers - we have issued 1,000,000 passports in the past year. To keep up with this demand - on several occasions in May we were issuing more than 5,000 passports a day.

Quite predictably, there was a downturn in the number of Australians travelling after major events including September 11, the Bali bombings and the SARS outbreak. But, the catch-up is happening now and we are expecting it will continue through to November this year, when the catch-up period will be complete.

Promisingly, Australians are not just travelling in significant numbers. There is strong evidence they are better informed and being much smarter travellers, which is what we are about. For example, the smartraveller website is getting an average of 160,000 page views per week, which is an excellent indication that more travellers are accessing our travel advice.

SAFE TRAVEL

Of course, we all want to encourage travel which is both safe and responsible - one of the core responsibilities of government is to share with the travelling public clear, credible information about risks.

I know the travel industry is also interested in promoting 'safe' travel. It makes good business sense because happy, safe travellers are more likely to be frequent travellers.

Unfortunately though, not all Australian travellers enjoy trouble free overseas visits.

Each year Australians make around 3.5 million trips overseas and the Department handles over 15,000 serious consular cases. This figure includes over 700 hospitalisations, 600 deaths and 100 evacuations of Australians to another location for medical purposes.

We have a network of staff in embassies and consulates across the world who respond to Australians in difficulty. This network is assisted by a team of officers in DFAT's Canberra office, which includes a 24 hour consular emergency centre.

Against a backdrop of 3.5 million trips a year, the number of consular cases might not seem that large. But even one Australian in difficulty is one too many and we are always looking for ways to reduce this number, particularly through the information we provide in our travel advisories.

Contemporary international environment presents security and safety concerns that until September 11 were unknown to current generations of Australians - international terrorism today is pervasive in a way which previous, often localised terrorist acts were not.

If you are in the travel industry today and do not appreciate this - then you are in denial. Of course, it is important to keep these risks in perspective; including by comparing them to the risks we face every day in life in Australia.

Part of the job of my division in the Department is to help Australians understand this new international dynamic. A significant part of our work is at the preventative end of scale: we want to see fewer Australians needing assistance and more Australians having fun, safe and successful business and holiday trips.

Our key objective is to see all Australian travellers being well-informed, responsible 'smart' travellers. The primary way in which Australians can be well-informed about risk is by accessing the Department's travel advisories.

We are not in the business of providing promotional travel information - that's your job.

PREPARATION OF TRAVEL ADVISORIES

As partners with us on the promotion of travel advisories, it might be helpful to give you a broad overview of how travel advisories are put together.

In preparing travel advisories DFAT draws on:

• assessments from Australian missions overseas about the security conditions in which they operate
• our experience of the common or recurring consular problems Australians are experiencing overseas
• Intelligence reports and in particular ASIO threat assessments
• the advisories prepared by our consular partners (US, UK, New Zealand and Canada) although we may reach different conclusions.

Travel advisories are under constant review and remain current on every day, not just the day after reissue.

TRAVEL ADVISORY MYTHS

I would like to take this opportunity to try and dispel some frequent misconceptions about travel advisories.

Firstly , our travel advisories are just that: advice .

They are not just about terrorism. In addition to information about security, they provide useful, practical tips on travelling such as on health, visa and local law and customs information.

Secondly , travel advisories are about one thing only: helping Australians to make informed decisions about travel

• They are not about banning travel
• They are not about undermining the interests of the travel industry.
• They are not influenced by commercial or political considerations.

Thirdly , contrary to what you may have heard in some media reporting, in the issuing of travel advice there is no "singling out" of countries.

DFAT maintains a travel advice, not travel warning on most countries that are popular destinations for Australians in all regions of the world.

For example, if you log on to the Department's smartraveller site you will see that there are advisories for more than 140 destinations. And, at present there are only six countries for which the Department is advising against all travel.

There are also travel advisories for a number of countries where the security risk is low but where there is a high volume of travel by Australians, such as New Zealand.

We are conscious that it is important to keep our travel advice in perspective. And, we are progressively trying to make our language even clearer - particularly at the lower end of the scale, and including by reference to the sort of risks that Australians might face here.

Fourthly , travel advisories are kept under constant review but as a matter of course every travel advice is reissued and reassessed every quarter . Obviously, if developments in a country require more regular updates we will respond through the travel advice. The travel industry needs to be clear about the regular review process.

Fifthly, and even more importantly, travel advisories do not lose their credibility just because a terrorist attack or a security risk, that we have brought to the attention of travellers, does not materialise.

There are many reasons why planned or intended terrorist attacks do not eventuate.

Some in the media misunderstand our travel advisory settings and I should add here that it is important to look at the advice itself - not the media interpretation of it.

Our experience is that travel advice is better understood by the general public than is sometimes thought. Most Australians realise that decisions about whether or not to travel is one for the individual traveller to make. Australians need to make their own choices on the basis of their own priorities, family situation etc.

When our travel advice recommends defer non-essential travel and Australians ask us whether they should travel - the decision about what constitutes essential travel is one for the individual to make.

We hear criticism from time to time that our advice does not assist the traveller in the practical management of risk; that the information we share about a threat is vague and generic in nature. That's because the information we see is often precisely that.

As you can imagine, it is extremely rare that a terrorist organisation conducts itself in such a way that Governments get access to the precision of their planning. Our information can be credible - that is, we know with good authority that something may be being planned in a region, but not specific . Rest assured that where we do have specific credible information that detail will be in the travel advice and we will move heaven and earth to bring it to the attention of Australians.

Where the threat is more generalised we will seek to ensure it is conveyed as accurately as possible to help travellers make their own informed decisions about risks.

Which brings me to my sixth point - there is no secret advice, the Department produces only one form of advice in the form of the travel advisories. An important principle behind our work is that the advice we provide to the Australian public is exactly the advice we provide to our own staff, to other government agencies or to the private sector. There are no double standards .

EVOLVING TRAVEL ADVISORIES

It is also important to note that travel advisories are:

• a very recent thing: they go back to about 1997 in their current recognisable form
• an evolving field of work
• not an exact science.

Like partner consular services (UK, US, Canada, New Zealand), we see travel advice as an evolving product, shaped by a range of issues including feedback from the travel industry and the travelling public.

We are always open to ways we can improve them, strengthen them and make them clearer to the travelling public.

We have made a practice of reviewing the presentation, format and general approach to travel advice on a regular basis.

The Government is very mindful of the need to ensure that advice remains credible in the public mind.

And, we are continually looking to improve the clarity of travel advice. In response to the feedback we have received from the travelling public and travel industry, we, in consultation with staff in our posts, are implementing a range of changes to travel advisories.

In particular, we are making the travel advisories clearer through introducing new sub-headings to differentiate safety and security threats, putting them in plainer English and introducing other textual changes.

It is also important to the ongoing credibility of travel advice that risks are kept in perspective. We are currently working to make it clearer in advisories for lower risk countries that the behaviour we recommend equates to that which is practised in Australia.

SMARTRAVELLER DISSEMINATION

Of course, there is not much point in the Department preparing these travel advisories if they are not known about or accessed.

The Department significantly improved the dissemination of travel advisories last year by launching the $9.7 million public information campaign, smartraveller .

The smartraveller campaign has a simple but vital message for all Australians - it is in your interest to consult the Department's travel advisories before going overseas.

This smartraveller message has been carried in smartraveller advertisements that you may have seen on television and in magazines and newspapers over the past year. During the past fortnight, you might have also heard some smartraveller radio advertisements featuring Ernie Dingo.

If you have been overseas recently, hopefully you have seen and perhaps even trialled the smartraveller kiosks located at the Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Darwin International Airports and at the Sydney and Canberra Passport Officers. These kiosks provide Australians with direct access to the smartraveller website, so they can print out the latest travel advice before departure.

As part of the smartraveller campaign we are keen to work even more closely with you = the travel industry to promote awareness and use of travel advisories.

PARTNERSHIPS WITH BUSINESS

Of course the unique partnership between the Government and the travel industry through the Charter for Safe Travel is an excellent way to advance our shared commitment to assisting Australians overseas travel safely. Cooperation between us is a world-first. Under the Charter, jointly launched by Mr Downer and AFTA Chief Executive Mike Hatton in June 2003, the travel industry is encouraging individuals to consult travel advice, and to take out appropriate travel insurance.

We currently have 1150 companies - travel agencies, airline, tour operators - as Charter for Safe Travel partners. Importantly, AFTA has made partnership with the Charter a condition of their membership. This membership shows our shared commitment to provide travellers with travel advice.

I would like to particularly acknowledge the excellent support we have received from Mike Hatton (Chief Executive, AFTA).

The Charter demonstrates a joint awareness that simple checks and preparations can minimise the risks for travellers and maximise the chances of a hassle-free journey.

A recent joint DFAT-AFTA survey of partners to the Charter has shown that travel agents are taking their membership of the Charter seriously as:

70% of respondents have increased their efforts to bring travel advisories to the attention of their customers, since becoming members.

The survey also established that:

Over 80% of respondents found the information within travel advisories on safety and security, local law and customs, entry and exit requirements, health issues, travel and health insurance, and consular assistance and registration to be either 'very useful' or 'useful'.

We know that a lot of travel agencies are going to the trouble of printing out travel advice for their customers, or have placed a line promoting the smartraveller website at the bottom of their itineraries. We appreciate this support.

I also commend those organisations and agencies that have allowed us to supply editorial on the smartraveller campaign in their publications and who have linked to smartraveller from their website. Again, the Department really appreciates your commitment.

For those of you who are not members of the Charter - we strongly urge you to sign on. This is very easy to do (it can be done through our smartraveller website) and it is good way of reassuring travellers of your safe travel status.

I would also like to inform you of a further recent initiative taken by the Department as part of the smartraveller campaign to enhance cooperation with industry. We have established a " Smartraveller Consultative Group " made up of representative industry bodies (such as AFTA) and the Government.

The purpose of the group is to provide a forum for advancing the aims of the Charter for Safe Travel, enable the travel industry to offer suggestions on improving the presentation, format and clarity of travel advice, and offer advice on the reach of key smartraveller messages.

As you will appreciate, it is not a forum for influence over the Government's treatment of risk, which remains our responsibility alone.

All these initiatives provide a strong foundation for further close cooperation with business operators and government in a way that benefits the travelling public. They will undoubtedly be taken into account by the Government in considering its response to a recent recommendation about taking this cooperation on travel advisories further.

The recommendation from the Bali Inquiry to establish a Code of Conduct outlining mandatory practices by agents in relation to travel advisories will be considered by the Government in coming weeks and of course, as also recommended by the Inquiry, will involve close consultation with industry.

CAMPAIGN SUCCESS

Our joint efforts in this area do appear to be having an impact. In addition to the joint DFAT/AFTA survey I referred to earlier we have been carefully monitoring public feedback about travel advice, including through independent research work conducted as part of the smartraveller initiative.

The results present a positive picture and demonstrate that the smartraveller campaign and the relationships we have developed with industry are motivating more and more Australians to access travel advice before they travel.

For example , an unprecedented number of Australians are accessing our advice on the internet:

• we are averaging 160,000 smartraveller page views a week
• we currently have 46,000 email subscribers to our travel advice

And, our call centre is averaging just under 3000 calls a month.

Prior to the commencement of the smartraveller campaign, only 37% of the general community were aware of the DFAT website, while this figure has increased to 60% amongst the general community and to 80% for departing travellers a year on in the campaign.

In conclusion let me say that, in spite of the troubles or perceived troubles around us that Australians remain keen travellers

The anecdotal evidence of the hardy Australian travelling spirit is backed up by the fact that DFAT is issuing record numbers of passports.

I strongly believe, the Government and tourism industry can work together to promote tourism without compromising the security and safety of Australians overseas.

While it is wonderful peace of mind for travellers and their families that there is a world-class consular support service on hand to help all Australian travellers - we should continue our joint efforts to help Australians avoid these pitfalls.

We want Australian travellers to be 'smart', responsible informed travellers.

Together we can ensure they are.

About Smart Trips

Smart Trips is a cutting edge mobile app that allows your travel business to provide next level interaction, engagement and service to your clients. The Smart Trips solution consists of two components –

Smart Trips Hub

Your very own dashboard for your travel business. Here you'll capture and create a client's trip from the quoting stage, right through to when they're ready take off on their trip!

Smart Trips App

The app specifically designed for your clients. With Smart Trips, your client's will be able to access all their important travel documentation right in the palm of their hand.

The Smart Trips Hub

Where the magic happens. A dedicated web-based portal where your travel business creates and stores all the elements of a client’s trip. The Hub has been designed for quick and easy Itinerary creation and document storage, with a host of extra features.

The App Built By Travel Agents. For Travel Agents

We’re not a tech company. We’re real travel agents and we know the unique challenges that come with running a successful travel business. That’s why we created Smart Trips for travel agents like you. Modern travel professionals who are looking to save time through innovative technology, whilst providing enhanced customer service to your clients. 

Instead of searching through your emails trying to keep track of travel bookings, printing out bulky travel wallets or spending hours typing up quotes – you could be using an integrative online system and smartphone app that provides both consistency and efficiency across your travel agency.

We Know Travel

Key Benefits

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Electronic Ticket Wallet

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Memory Bank

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News Center > Thought Leadership

Nielsen data reveals australia’s top travel trends and the brands spending big to attract aussie tourists, 4 minute read | april 2024.

• Industry’s biggest ad spenders revealed as travel marketing budgets jump 8% quarter-on-quarter
• Top local and overseas destinations revealed
• Most popular Aussie travel websites
• The winners and losers of the frequent flyer war

Sydney – April 30 , 2024 – As many Australians return from a much-needed retreat over the recent school holiday break, millions are already planning their next getaway, embracing travel rewards schemes, while being wooed by travel brands spending millions to get their business.

Nielsen Consumer & Media View (CMV) data shows that 76% of Aussies plan on travelling domestically in the next 12 months, while more than half (52%) have their eye on an overseas destination.

Top domestic destinations

Younger Aussies (25 to 39) are the most likely to be bitten by the domestic travel bug, with 78% planning to holiday locally in the next 12 months. Sydney narrowly beats Melbourne as the preferred place to visit, followed by The Gold Coast, Regional NSW, then Brisbane.

Top overseas destinations

The even younger 18 to 24 age group are the most likely to travel overseas, with 58% planning to travel abroad in the coming year. The UK tops the list of desired OS destinations, followed by New Zealand, Japan, The USA and Indonesia.

While most Aussies are looking for a beach getaway when it comes to staying close to home, they prefer a trip involving plenty of sightseeing, followed by some rest and relaxation, once they leave the country.

Top travel websites

Data from Nielsen Digital Content Ratings (DCR) saw Qantas claim top spot when it comes to travel websites, followed by Trip Advisor with 5.82 million and 5.02 million users respectively in Q1 of this year. Booking Holdings Network was the third-largest platform in terms of users with 2.5 million.

Average user engagement time on most travel platforms was also consistent from Q4 2023 to Q1 2024, although Royal Caribbean Cruises and  Anytrip.com.au  led the pack. On average, Royal Caribbean users spent roughly 29 minutes interacting with the platform, while Anytrip users spent almost 27 minutes on the platform.

Top frequent flyer programs

The number of Australians who are members of a frequent flyer program also increased, with 57% of all Australian consumers now part of some sort of travel rewards scheme. Qantas remains the market leader with a 45% share of the market, followed by Virgin (31%), and other smaller players making up the remaining 24%.

Top travel advertisers

In addition, Nielsen Ad Intel data also shows that the travel and tourism industry spent more than $153 million on advertising in Australia in Q1, 2024 – an increase of 8% from the previous quarter, with TripADeal the biggest spender, followed by Virgin Australia, then the Flight Centre-owned Ignite Travel. 

Nielsen Ad Intel’s Australia Commercial Lead, Rose Lopreiato, said: “Australians’ love of travel continues to defy cost of living pressures, as shown by an 8% jump in travel ad spend this quarter. You can’t get a stronger indicator than that when it comes to how marketers and advertisers are spending in order to maximise ROI, forge lasting connections with brands and consumers, and do so in the most economical way possible. From competitive ad spend analysis, to knowing what your competitors are saying in market and the deals and offers you’re up against, Ad Intel helps you understand which ads are driving your competitors spend and where”.

Glenn Channel, Nielsen’s Pacific Head of Advanced Analytics added: “More than ever, brands need data that gives them the edge on their competition. That means going above standard demographic information, and understanding consumers, in this case travellers, as unique groups, who are motivated by more than just the urge to get away. Nielsen CMV enables brands to see consumers through an advanced audience lens, delivering a more holistic picture of behaviours and preferences with surprising linkages and purchase triggers that other consumer insight providers can’t match.”

About Nielsen

Nielsen shapes the world’s media and content as a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics. Through our understanding of people and their behaviours across all channels and platforms, we empower our clients with independent and actionable intelligence so they can connect and engage with their audiences – now and into the future. Nielsen operates around the world in more than 55 countries. 

Learn more at www.nielsen.com and connect with us on social media (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram). 

Media Contact

Dan Chapman Assoc. Director, Communications, Nielsen APAC [email protected] +61 404 088 462

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You no longer need to register.

We no longer ask you to register your trip with us, instead you can subscribe to receive updates on the destinations you are travelling to and through.

Why the change?

Pre-trip registration with Smartraveller ended in 2019.

We decided to end pre-trip registration because we found many people were not providing accurate itineraries, updating their itineraries when plans changed or advising if they left a destination they had been staying in for a while. Inaccurate information would make it difficult for us to reach people who really needed help during a crisis.

We found that the system was not providing the service intended and that a subscription system would be better to deliver updated advice or alerts to travellers. It also allows you to manage the information you receive and stop alerts when they are no longer needed.

What happens in a crisis?

Where a crisis occurs, DFAT can set up a crisis registration portal. If we open crisis registrations, we’ll publish the link on our website and share it on social media. This allows you or your loved ones to register your location and contact details with us so we can get in contact and provide advice.

Our most recent registration portal was set up in the lead up to the war in the Ukraine and we were able to quickly gather information on the number of Australian citizens and permanent residents who were in the Ukraine and nearby areas, provide them advice on what to do and check whether they were in danger.

• Make sure you are prepared to travel to all your destination/s, including those you are transiting through. Read what to do before you go .
• Learn about what to do in a crisis .
• Learn more about the Consular Emergency Centre (CEC) and crisis response .
• Know how and when we can help. Read the Consular Services Charter .