There’s one thing we know for sure about Australian travellers – they’re consistent in the destinations they’re choosing to holiday in.
According to latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures, the majority of Aussies are still travelling to the same countries they were visiting a decade ago.
The top three most popular travel destinations for Aussies over the 2015/16 financial year were New Zealand, Indonesia and the United States. The same three countries, along with the UK, that were among the most popular travel destinations for Aussies back in 2006.
Libby O’Toole from the ABS’ Migration Analysis and Reporting Team, said numbers continue to rise for the countries, specifically Indonesia, which has experienced five times more Australian arrivals over the 10 years.
Although we’re still fond of the same countries, the things we do and see in each destination has changed over the last few years.
In the United States, Qantas and Air New Zealand’s new southern routes have opened up the grand state of Texas, while curiosity sent Aussies outside of traditional cities to places like Philadelphia, Washington DC, Virginia, New York State, Idaho and more.
While Bali may still be a hot spot for Australians in Indonesia, there’s a growing number of holidaymakers travelling to other islands including Lombok.
Then there’s New Zealand, which will likely always be an Aussie fave as one of our closest international neighbours and our biggest rivals.
Meanwhile, the latest report revealed that 7.8 million people travelled to Australia over the 12 months, up 10 percent on the previous year.
Arrivals from China rocketed to 1.1 million, up 22.2 percent on the prior 12 months. It was the second largest market, behind New Zealand, which increased by 4.2 percent.
The UK market remained strong with 5.4 percent extra visitors, while the USA spiked with 14.1 percent more visitors to 706,100.
