Wego, the leading travel search site in the Asia Pacific discovered that the popular festival had a growing impact on flight searches for the big parade day.
“The festival’s parade on March 7 incredibly involves 10,000 people and attracts hundreds of thousands who line the streets to be a part of the iconic colour and entertainment,” said Joachim Holte, Chief Marketing Officer. “There’s no doubt that the parade has an impact on tourism to the city, and we’ve seen some interesting growth in the number of searches for flights in a number of areas.”
Wego saw a distinctive spike in flight searches to Sydney as early as February 11, from other Australian state capitals. Searches were overwhelmingly selected for the day before the big parade, with searches multiplying as the date draws closer.
“According to our data, more Australians are planning to attend the parade this year than ever before,” said Holte. “Searches for the date began earlier in February this year, and were at a higher level than in 2014, which shows a distinct travel intention.”
The statistics showed that regular domestic flight traffic for arrival in Sydney the day prior to the parade on March 6, more than doubled this year, while international flight searches peaked for two days prior to the parade itself.
“International visitor searches were fairly static compared to last year although there has been a slight upward trend,” added Holte. “The parade itself is definitely the motivator with international visitors arriving a day or two earlier than domestic visitors who are likely taking a long weekend to attend or participate.”
“Festivals are increasingly becoming a big tourism draw right around the world, and the Sydney Mardi Gras has become an icon in Australia’s festival calendar which showcases the Harbour City as well as Australia’s ability to celebrate expression in all its colourful forms,” Holte concluded.
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