As we enter the northern hemisphere summer, Australians are embracing travel again, but tourism spending is still far below pre COVID-19 levels. The drag on retail as consumers reallocate spending remains modest. Data shows airline capacity for Australia is still 15% below pre COVID-19 levels at June 2022 and much lower than that for international flights. The switch from retail to travel is likely to peak in 2023, in our view, adding to the headwind for retail next year.

Chart: Index of quarterly spending March ’22 vs December ’19 (selected items)

Source: ABS, MST Marquee. Shows quarterly data, seasonally adjusted.