As more and more Australians look abroad for their next adventure, it’s easy to forget that the best destinations to travel to might be on our doorstep.
You’ve likely been to Bali, New Zealand and Thailand – so now where? The next hot spot for Aussies is actually our French and Polynesian neighbour – New Caledonia – and we can completely see why.
According to the inaugural Travel Trends report by Flight Centre, bookings by Australians to New Caledonia were up “42 per cent from 2015.”
This saw it take out the title as the country with the biggest increase of Australian travellers when comparing 2016 to 2015.
Japan ranked second on the list with an 18 per cent increase in Aussie travellers in 2016, while pacific island Vanuatu came in third with 17 per cent.
“Australians want more than a beach holiday or a hotel stay – they want to taste the local culture and cuisine,” says Graham Turner, Flight Centre CEO. “They want a travel experience that is meaningful and connects them with important personal, family, career and even national values, priorities and interests.”
New Caledonia was also the most population destination for disembarking on a cruise ship, and with 22 per cent of cruise passengers aged 18-24 it’s no wonder the budget destination is picking up steam.
New Caledonia was also named as one of the best emerging destinations to travel to in 2016 if you want to make the swap from Bali with Expedia, citing “long beaches, cocktails by the pool and great value-for-money.”
We can certainly get on board with those things.
