A recent survey has revealed a ranking of the top domestic and global travel destinations Aussies are likely to seek out for a holiday this year.
By a significant margin, Queensland tops the list domestically whilst New Zealand tops the international list.
The findings were derived from a survey of an independent panel of 1001 Australian travellers commissioned by leading, award-winning travel insurance provider InsureandGo.
98% of Aussies are travelling domestically or internationally this year
The good news is that nearly all respondents indicated they have, or will, take a holiday this year. Nearly two-thirds (61 per cent) are travelling inside Australia, while 37 per cent have gone or will travel overseas. Only 2 per cent are taking this year off travel.
Queensland tops the domestic holiday list, while the ACT ranks last
InsureandGo asked respondents to choose the most appealing State for a domestic holiday. One in three (35 per cent) chose Queensland. This comes as no surprise after Queensland saw a record $24.5 billion in domestic visitor spend in the year to September 2022, even after the international border re-opened.
In December 2022, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said, “Queensland continues to be Australia’s shining light for domestic tourism.”
The InsureandGo survey found that only 16 per cent of respondents indicated NSW appealed to them the most, followed closely by Western Australia (chosen by 13 per cent). Victoria appealed to 12 per cent of respondents, while 11 per cent chose Tasmania, 7 per cent South Australia, 5 per cent the Northern Territory and just 1 per cent the ACT.
NZ tops the global list
Respondents were also asked to choose their top three global holiday destinations, for the year.
Australia was included in the list, to measure its popularity as a holiday destination against well-loved global locations. Destinations closer to home came out on top as flight prices remain high and many travellers are still only beginning to re-introduce international travel to their holidays.
The InsureandGo survey found that this year, trips to Asia and North America may eclipse the traditional European trip in the Aussie winter: The Asia-Pacific appealed to 44 per cent of respondents, whilst 35 per cent chose North America as their international destinations this year, compared with 31 per cent that chose Western Europe.
The results showed:
- New Zealand (59 per cent).
- Asia-Pacific: East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands, (44 per cent).
- The USA and Canada (35 per cent).
- Western Europe (31 per cent).
- The UK (30 per cent).
- Eastern Europe (17 per cent).
- South America (8 per cent).
- Africa (6 per cent).
- Middle East/West Asia (5 per cent).
- Central Asia (5 per cent).
- Central America (5 per cent).
More than half (56 per cent) of respondents revealed that Australia appealed to them more than all of the international destinations listed in the survey for a holiday in 2023.
