Road Trip Statistics in Australia

In Budget Direct’s 2025 survey of 1,001 Australian adults, 91.7% of respondents said they had taken a road trip in Australia.

Age Group

• Respondents aged 35-49 were the most likely age group to have taken a road trip.
• The 35-49 age group was also the most likely to travel with immediate family.
• Among surveyed respondents aged 35-49, 49% travelled with children and 65% travelled with a partner.
• Younger respondents were more likely to prepare entertainment for the trip, with close to 40% of 18-27-year-olds including a music playlist on their pre-trip checklist.

Travel Preferences

• Partners were the most common travel companions, with 64.1% of surveyed road-trip respondents saying they travelled with their partner on their last road trip.
• Children were the second most common travel party, cited by 29.1% of respondents.
• Friends were cited by 16.3% of respondents, while 7.2% said they travelled solo.
• Sedans, hatchbacks, and station wagons were the most common vehicle type, used by 47% of surveyed respondents on their last road trip.
• Sport utility vehicles were the next most common vehicle type, used by 33% of respondents.

Note: Budget Direct’s travel-party question allowed multiple responses, so shares exceed 100% when combined.

Road-trip-related tourism sat within a broader tourism economy that generated AUD 81.1 billion in direct tourism gross domestic product in the year ending 30 June 2025.

• Direct tourism gross domestic product accounted for 2.9% of the Australian economy in the year ending 30 June 2025.
• Domestic tourism consumption reached AUD 168.8 billion in 2025, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
• Tourism-filled jobs reached 696 000 in 2025, up 2% from the previous year.
• Caravan and camping travel contributed AUD 12.6 billion in trip spend in 2025.
• Regional caravan and camping trips accounted for 1 in every 3 domestic overnight holiday trips in regional Australia and 1 in every 4 dollars spent on regional domestic holiday trips.

Note: Australian Bureau of Statistics tourism financial-year data ends on 30 June. Gross domestic product (GDP), tourism consumption, and tourism jobs show the wider visitor-economy setting for road-trip spending.

Fuel prices were the most visible cost barrier in Budget Direct’s 2025 survey, with 36% of respondents saying fuel prices were too high.

• 19% of respondents said they could not balance work and holidays.
• 25% of respondents said they disliked being confined to a car for an extended period.
• Travel preparation had slipped over time, with oil-level checks down 6% and basic tyre-pressure checks down 3% compared with earlier survey results.
• In 2025, 54.5% of respondents checked tyre pressure and condition before their last road trip.
• 57.7% of respondents planned the exact path for their journey before their last road trip.

The outlook for Australian road trips includes record caravan and campervan registrations, expanding electric vehicle infrastructure, and tourism growth forecasts.

Emerging Road Trip Trends

• Caravan and campervan registrations reached almost 938 000 in 2025, an all-time high.
• Australia had 1,324 public fast and ultra-fast electric vehicle charging sites by June 2025.
• Public fast and ultra-fast charging sites increased from 812 in December 2023 to 1,172 in December 2024.
• Fast and ultra-fast charging sites had 4,138 charging plugs by June 2025.
• Queensland’s drive tourism strategy forecasts multi-destination overnight visitor expenditure to rise from AUD 3 billion in 2023 to AUD 4.5 billion by 2032.

Forecast for Road Trips and Tourism

• Tourism Research Australia forecasts 123 million domestic overnight trips and 313.1 million domestic day trips in 2030.
• Domestic tourism spend is forecast to reach AUD 187.4 billion by 2030.
• Short-term international arrivals to Australia are forecast to rise from 8.8 million in 2025 to 10.9 million in 2030.
• Queensland’s holiday drive visitors are forecast to grow from 8.2 million in 2023 to 11.7 million by 2032.
• Queensland’s holiday drive market overnight visitor expenditure is forecast to rise from AUD 9 billion in 2023 to AUD 12 billion by 2032.

Note: Tourism Research Australia forecasts cover national travel activity, while Queensland’s forecast is specific to holiday drive visitors.