Last Updated on 4 days ago by Charbel Coorey

Australia’s cost of living is expected to increase in 2026, and one of the reasons provided by Betashares chief economist David Bassanese is quite interesting.

According to Bassanese, the Barmy Army’s visit down under for the Ashes is a driving force for the jump in inflation.

Australia and England went head-to-head from November 21st to January 8th. There were record attendances across the five Tests, with the English travelling contingent playing a significant part in the excellent crowds across the country.

Barmy Army said to be a factor in inflation surge in Australia

According to a report in The Nightly, holiday costs increased 7.4 per cent in the final two months of 2025, coinciding with the Ashes. Economists believe The Barmy Army’s spending on flights, accommodation and hospitality helped drive up inflation.

“To some extent, the hospitality and travel costs were a one-off due to the Ashes and Barmy Army [spending by the touring fans],” Bassanese said.

“The airlines also never miss an opportunity to jack up prices when demand surges. But that’s only the caveat, the overall picture is that underlying inflation has been very strong since the September quarter.”

Kayo Sports reported on the news via social media. “England’s cricket supporters spent heavily on hotels, hospitality and flights during the Ashes tour in Australia, with economists crediting their spending as a factor in tourism rising by almost 10% and inflation lifting to 3.8% in December. As if the rivalry needed any extra fuel,” read the Facebook post.

Predictably, it drew plenty of reaction from fans, as did a feature by 7 News (below).

“Yeah nah has nothing to do with rampant federal and state governments spending…. It’s all few thousand of the barmy army spending money,” wrote one fan.

“If travelling cricket supporters can influence your economy THAT much… there are MUCH bigger issues, cos that is one fragile economy! Maybe it has something to do with those services like hotels etc hiking their prices over holidays???” wrote another.