Australia
14 November 2024, SYDNEY: As Australia approaches the busy holiday season, Expedia and Wotif have released the Summer Travel Outlook, revealing the most popular domestic and international destinations with savvy tips for booking a last-minute getaway.
New Wotif data shows Aussie travellers can find great value domestic summer accommodation rates under $250 a night by holidaying in Darwin, NT, and inland destinations such as Launceston, TAS, and Orange, NSW. As a beach-loving nation, coastal areas, including the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast in QLD, and Port Stephens in NSW, remain favourites.
Expedia reveals Tokyo is still the most popular international holiday destination over the Aussie summer, while Singapore knocked Bali off the number two spot. Aussies continue to be lured by island destinations such as Thailand, Fiji, and Hawaii, which offer a wide range of all-inclusive accommodation options. In fact, almost half (47%) of Aussie travellers are likely to stay in an all-inclusive hotel in 2025*.
“Christmas and summer are peak travel periods, but Aussies can still find cost-effective holidays in summer, provided they are flexible with destinations and travel dates, for example travelling overseas in late January can be up to 118% cheaper than the lead up to Christmas week,” says Sarah King, Expedia Group Travel Expert.
“Our hot tip for domestic travel is to consider Season Swapping by visiting a destination in its traditional off-season. For example, Tropical North Queensland regions like Townsville or Cairns can offer up to 22% off over the summer, as well as unique experiences such as wet season wildlife and waterfalls.
“Internationally, Southeast Asian destinations like Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia always stretch the Aussie dollar further. For a hassle-free holiday, consider an all-inclusive stay to spend less time planning or budgeting and more time relaxing, with everything needed for a memorable getaway in one place.”
Read the full Expedia and Wotif Summer Travel Outlook below, designed to help Aussie travellers maximise budgets and plan for what’s shaping up to be a busy summer travel season:
The most popular and trending summer destinations:
| Most popular domestic summer destinations (excluding capital cities) according to Wotif1 | Most popular international summer holiday destinations, according to Expedia2 | Trending international summer holiday overseas destinations, according to Expedia3 |
| 1. Gold Coast, QLD 2. Sunshine Coast, QLD 3. Port Stephens, NSW 4. Cairns, QLD 5. Central Coast, NSW 6. Coffs Harbour, NSW 7. Byron Bay, NSW 8. Newcastle, NSW 9. The Whitsundays, QLD 10. Tweed Heads, NSW | 1. Tokyo, Japan 2. Singapore 3. Bali, Indonesia 4. Osaka, Japan 5. Dubai, UAE 6. Queenstown, New Zealand 7. Bangkok, Thailand 8. Phuket, Thailand 9. Nadi, Fiji 10. Honolulu, USA | 1. Hakuba, Japan: +130% 2. Port Vila, Vanuatu: +99% 3. Taipei, Taiwan: +91% 4. Nadi, Fiji: +88% 5. Seoul, South Korea: + 81% 6. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: + 81% 7. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: +69% 8. Koh Samui, Thailand: +69% 9. London, UK: +45% 10. Queenstown, New Zealand: +42% |
A quick look at best value summer destinations:
| Best value domestic summer holiday destinations under $250 on average a night, according to Wotif4 | Best value international summer holiday destinations under $350 on average a night, according to Expedia5 |
| – Darwin, NT – Townsville, QLD – Orange, NSW – Launceston, TAS – Cairns, QLD | – Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – Las Vegas, USA – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Auckland, New Zealand – London, UK |
Domestic summer travel booking tips, according to Wotif **:
- Best day to travel to beat the crowds: Sunday
- Least busy week to travel: 2nd last week of Jan (20-26 January) which is 87% less busy than in the Christmas week (23-29 December)
- Best value time to travel domestically: Booking accommodation for the 29th and 30th of January are the best value days to travel over the summer holidays. For those that aren’t back at school until early February, consider taking a break towards the end of January.
- Embrace flexibility: Try broadening horizons when it comes to destinations to find less crowds and a better deal. For example, travellers can save up to 122% in Darwin and 22% in Cairns on accommodation by holidaying in the summer instead of winter.
International summer travel booking tips, according to Expedia***:
- Best value travel dates: 26 January, when average ticket prices are nearly 118% cheaper than 16 December
- Best value day to fly: Sunday
- Busiest travel date and day to fly: 23 December; Friday
- Best date and day to travel to beat the crowds: 31 January; Sunday is 21% less busy than flying on Friday.
- Best week to travel internationally for better accommodation rates: Two weeks before Christmas (9-15 December) could save travellers around 28% than booking in the Christmas week (23-29 December)
Additional Expedia and Wotif top tips to help Aussie travellers book smart this summer:
- Down-star accommodation to save: To maximise a holiday budget over the busy summer period, consider down-starring your accommodation. Simply opting for a 4-star property over a 5-star could help you stay within budget, while still providing some excellent facilities and amenities. Down-starring, may also mean you can upgrade to a better room type helping you find better value.
- Flexible reservations: Use Expedia and Wotif’s search filters to discover accommodations offering “fully refundable property” or “reserve now, pay later” options, and select the refundable room.
- Chat with Expedia: To make planning easier, start an open-ended conversation with Expedia’s chat feature powered by ChatGPT and get recommendations on places to go, where to stay, how to get around, and what to see and do.
- Bundle up: Travellers can save an average of $340 by bundling their flight and hotel booking on Expedia and $94 on Wotif
Data sources
*Third-party research was commissioned by Expedia Group and conducted by market research firm OnePoll, in accordance with the Market Research Society’s code of conduct. The study was conducted among 25,000 respondents across 19 countries, among adults who have travelled for leisure or plan to in the next three years.
**Based on analysis of domestic Wotif accommodation booking data between 1 December 2023 and 31 January 2024
***Based on analysis of international Expedia booking data between 1 December 2023 and 31 January 2024
