Top travel destinations for Australians ahead of Jetstar’s Flash Friday sale
Jetstar has slashed the cost of airfares in its Flash Friday sale as more Aussies look for family friendly holidays despite lockdowns, and start booking overseas trips.
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Jetstar has slashed some airfares to $45 as more Australians look for family-friendly travel destinations despite border restrictions — and some are even booking overseas trips despite continuing uncertainty.
As part of the budget airline’s regular Flash Friday sale, there are a number of one-way fares starting from $45 to the Gold Coast, departing from Newcastle and Sydney.
Travellers can also fly from Brisbane to Newcastle from $49, and Sydney to the Sunshine Coast from $59.
It comes as new Jetstar.com data provided to News Corp revealed in recent months searches on its website reveal nearly 70 per cent of those who intend to travel domestically want to for holiday purposes.
Cairns and Sydney were the hottest destinations, with searches for both cities up 22 per cent over the last few months. They were followed by Coolangatta Airport on the Gold Coast (up 21 per cent); Melbourne (up 20 per cent); Hobart (up 14 per cent); Brisbane, Perth and the NT (all up 13 per cent), Adelaide (up 11 per cent); Broome (up 8 per cent), and the ACT (up 4 per cent).
But Australian travellers are not just looking in their own backyard or interstate, they are also booking trips abroad.
Data from Sky Scanner given to News Corp revealed where they are planning to jet off to between January 1 and June 30 next year, departing from Sydney Airport.
Tokyo was the top destination, with bookings up almost 40 per cent in May when compared to June.
London was second (up 28 per cent), followed by Bali (up 2 per cent); Auckland (up 13 per cent); Bangkok (up 28 per cent); Singapore (up 43 per cent); Manchester (up 91 per cent); Colombo (up 107 per cent); Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City (a slight dip on the previous month), and Honolulu (up 4 per cent).
Sky Scanner does not share raw booking data; so while some destinations rank higher in the top 10 list despite having a lower percentage growth month-on-month, the overall number of bookings would be higher.
The flight aggregator analysed redirects from its website (where people search for airfares) to its partners’ websites (where people book their ticket). It looked at economy class tickets for return travel. Sky Scanner counts redirects as bookings.
A Sky Scanner spokesperson said its recent Pulse survey of more than 530 Australians found almost half of respondents believed it would be safe to travel internationally within the next six months.
Overseas trips are off the cards for Australians until at least September 17 after the Federal Government extended the international travel ban, which was originally due to expire on June 17.
However, the ban is understood to not prohibit the formation of “travel bubbles” with other countries where coronavirus cases are under control.
When asked if there were any plans to extend the international travel ban, an Australian Border Force spokesperson told News Corp: “Any decision will be made and announced by Government in due course.”
Travel insurance comparison site Compare Travel Insurance experienced a 200 per cent increase on the search term “international travel insurance” in the last month.
“We’ve seen a growth in appetite for overseas travel in recent weeks, but the most interesting observation has been how far in advance travellers are looking to cover their trip and the amount of time spent researching their options,” Compare Travel Insurance Associate Director, Natalie Ball said.
She added there had been a “huge spike” in domestic travel inquiries.
Ms Ball said the biggest “gotcha” for travel insurance at the moment was COVID-19 and it was unlikely to be covered in policies. However, she said taking out cover was still important.
“COVID-19 aside, travel insurance is there to cover you for many unforeseen events outside of your control,” she said.
“In term of refunds, a small portion of your premium may be attributed to pre-trip cancellation so you may pay slightly less if you buy closer to your departure date, but the longer you wait, the longer you and your holiday are unprotected for unforeseen events.”
Originally published as Top travel destinations for Australians ahead of Jetstar’s Flash Friday sale