This Saturday marks one year since Australia closed its borders to international visitors and overseas travel as the pandemic shut the country out to international travel indefinitely.
Reflecting on the last 12 months, and what continues to be a tumultuous time for the travel industry, Booking.com has revealed last year’s top 20 most searched destinations by Australians on the platform just before borders closed, and how this compares to where we're looking to travel one year on.
Luke Wilson, Area Manager for Australia at Booking.com, said the range of countries in the top 20 international destinations provides insight into Aussie’s strong appetite to explore the world beyond our borders once travel resumes.
“While we are all extremely grateful to be on Australian shores during the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 saw many Aussies give up on their overseas experiences, destination weddings, honeymoons, and holidays with families and friends overseas.
“Whether we were hopping on a plane for a quick trip across the ditch or heading on a longer journey further afield to the United Kingdom, Japan, or the United States, the variety of international destinations we were planning to visit in 2020 speaks to Aussie’s’ preparedness to cross the world in search of the ultimate holiday” says Wilson.
Using search data from February 2020, Booking.com can reveal the international destinations Aussies were looking at on the platform one month before the country’s borders closed and halted international travel for the foreseeable future.
In good news for Australian metro destinations struggling to attract travellers due to the ongoing border closures, our much-loved urban escapes do remain at the top of the list. Beach destinations such as Port Douglas, Airlie Beach and Port Macquarie also dominate the list in February suggesting the last of the summer weather is top of mind for Aussies right now.
As borders closed, international destinations dropped off travel lists completely, replaced with classic Aussie destinations, as travellers chose to holiday at home this year. Vibrant seafood port, Mooloolaba in Queensland had the same amount of search demand in February 2021 as New York, the city that never sleeps did in February 2020. Whilst in February 2021, Coffs Harbour in NSW equaled the search demand of Tokyo from February 2020.
February 2021 Top 20 Most Searched Destinations:
- Gold Coast
- Sydney
- Melbourne
- Brisbane
- Perth
- Adelaide
- Canberra
- Byron Bay
- Noosa Heads
- Cairns
- Hobart
- Port Douglas
- Airlie Beach
- Port Macquarie
- Coffs Harbour
- Newcastle
- Hamilton Island
- Darwin
- Nelson Bay
- Mooloolaba
February 2020 Top 20 Most Searched Destinations:
- Sydney
- Melbourne
- Gold Coast
- Brisbane
- Perth
- Adelaide
- Seminyak
- Canberra
- Hobart
- Cairns
- Singapore
- Byron Bay
- London
- Legian
- Tokyo
- Ubud
- Kuta
- Noosa Heads
- Queenstown
- New York
February 2021 Top 10 Trending Domestic Destinations*
- Hamilton Island
- Pokolbin
- Hervey Bay
- Forster
- Bright
- Maroochydore
- Yamba
- Terrigal
- Mudgee
- Huskisson
As we continue into 2021, it’s Booking.com’s mission is to make it easier for everyone to experience travel, with the widest choice, great value and the easiest experience from anywhere and on any device so travellers can enjoy all of the unforgettable experiences Australia has to offer.
*Methodology: the destinations had to be in the top 100 most searched during February 2021 and had to have gone up by 10 ranks or more when compared to the same period in 2021
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