Regional cities never really went anywhere… but Australians are rediscovering their favourite low-key communities.

With long-weekends reinstated, Aussies all over the country are keen to visit family and friends in places they haven’t seen for years. This means amazing things for regional community tourism, but it’s awful for motorways going into gridlock and over-crowded airports on Friday nights.

Numbers don’t lie! Regional tourism now makes up 60 per cent of South Australia’s total visitor expenditure, which is up from 44 per cent at the end of 2019.

According to AFR, during the June long weekend, more than 80,000 people had passed through Sydney Airport by Friday night with 60,000 expected on Saturday and again on Sunday, followed by 70,000 on Monday.

Melbourne Airport had processed more than 97,000 travellers by Friday evening, with 60,000-65,000 expected on Saturday, 70,000 on Sunday and 90,000 on Monday.