What travellers want to take home

Most people who buy a souvenir want it to come from the place they visited. New research from The Mercurius Group suggests the souvenirs on offer often miss that mark. Some travellers leave without buying anything because nothing on the shelf feels connected to where they have been.

The white paper, Growing Passenger Spend Through Culturally Authentic, Locally Made Souvenirs, was released in July 2026 and presented at the Australian Airports Association Retail & Commercial Forum in Cairns. It draws on a survey of 825 travellers who had visited Australia, New Zealand or both in the past year. Alperstein Designs and Auckland Airport co-sponsored the research, and The Moodie Davitt Report covered its findings in its September/October issue.

Locally made souvenirs that belong to a place

The research found that people buy souvenirs for different reasons. The largest group, around 40% of respondents, buys to remember a trip. Around a third actively look for things made in the country they are visiting. Both groups place real weight on local culture. It was rated very or extremely important by 76% of people buying to remember a trip, and by 93% of those looking for locally made products.

That preference carries through to what travellers say they would buy. Shown a generic, mass-produced souvenir, 58% said they were likely to buy it at an airport. When the same souvenir was made locally, the figure rose to 86%. When it was locally made and culturally authentic, it rose to 88%.

The gap was widest among Australians. Fewer than half would buy the generic version, against 93% for one that was culturally authentic and made here. The paper points out that departing locals buy souvenirs too, as a last chance to take a reminder of home with them.

Mercurius defines “locally made” as made in Australia or New Zealand, whether by hand or in a factory. “Culturally authentic” means a souvenir that genuinely reflects the culture, traditions or heritage of either country, including Indigenous Australian and Māori cultural elements.

A reminder of the place

People buy a souvenir to keep hold of somewhere after they leave. The research suggests most travellers want to keep the experience of the place, including its culture, and a generic keepsake struggles to carry that home.

Our range is designed to close that gap. We license artwork from Australian artists, including First Nations Australian artists, and put it on homewares and accessories you can enjoy every day. Artists and art centres are credited on each piece and paid a royalty each time it sells.

Our in-house creative team designs its own pieces too, with the same aim the business started with in 1996: Australiana that’s fun and sophisticated, the kind of thing locals and visitors are proud to keep or give.

When we started out, everything was made locally. That’s become harder over the years, but we still make here where we can, including our hand-thrown ceramics and Australian botanic hand creams. Wherever a piece is made, it’s held to the same standard of quality, and we work with artists and art centres to make sure each work is represented the way it should be.

Whether you’re visiting Australia or sending a gift overseas, you’ll find something worth taking home. Browse our Made in Australia collection or explore the full range.

Sources

The Mercurius Group, Growing Passenger Spend Through Culturally Authentic, Locally Made Souvenirs, white paper, July 2026. Author: Matthew Quoi. © 2026 The Mercurius Group Pty Ltd. Figures cited with permission.

The Moodie Davitt Report, “Maximising an untapped opportunity”, September/October 2026 (print edition).

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