Australia’s inland towns outrank coastal centres for domestic travel

Victoria has continued its sweep of tourism accolades with the state not only home to Australia’s best beach, but now also the best town.

Victoria has continued its sweep of tourism accolades with the state not only home to Australia’s best beach, but also the top town.

Hot on the heels of Squeaky Beach’s success in Tourism Australia’s annual rankings, Bendigo has come out on top in Wotif’s yearly list of alluring regional centres.

Accommodation affordability, quality and traveller satisfaction were the key measures of success for the “best town” list, with Broken Hill in New South Wales second, and Stanthorpe in southwest Queensland third.

Wotif travel expert Sarah King said seven out of ten Australians planned to travel domestically in 2024, of which two-fifths wanted to visit new destinations.

“Aussie travellers are driven by a curiosity to experience the world around them and it’s fantastic to see that pursuit of discovery leading many to find culture close to home,” said Ms King.

Bendigo mayor Andrea Metcalf said she was not surprised the town was considered Australia’s best because it had “so much to offer”.

With a population of 120,000, Cr Metcalf said Bendigo punched well above its weight, with numerous tourism experiences, a popular art gallery and “lots of festivals”.

“In this Lunar year of the dragon, we’re expecting our Golden Dragon Museum to attract a lot of visitors,” she said.

“The other thing about Bendigo is it’s really accessible. We’ve got a daily flight from Qantas, and train fares from Melbourne are only $10 return, and $5 for pensioners.”

Bendigo’s heritage trams are among the town’s drawcards for tourists. Picture: City of Greater Bendigo

With Wotif revealing 4.5 million people planned to visit Victoria in 2024, Cr Metcalf said Bendigo was well placed for a “tourist boom”.

“We’ve got hatted restaurants, lots of really nice food and wine to drink, we’ve got the underground goldmine experience, and our heritage trams rolling along the streets,” she added.

Ms King said Wotif had noticed a growing interest in inland experiences in the place of classic coastal getaways, reflecting the desire of many to learn more about Australia.

Katherine and Bathurst rounded out the top five, followed by Tanunda in South Australia, Griffith in NSW, Stanley in Tasmania, Exmouth in WA and the opal capital of Coober Pedy in South Australia.

“Local domestic travellers are most interested in exploring historic sites which they’ll find in Broken Hill with its sacred Aboriginal site Mutawintji National Park, places that showcase Australia’s unique outback experiences such as the underground town of Coober Pedy in South Australia, and destinations that showcase the arts such as Godinymayin Yijard Arts and Culture Centre in Northern Territory’s Katherine,” Ms King said.

Stanthorpe in southwest Queensland took bronze in Wotif's town of the year awards. Picture: Wotif.

In the upcoming Easter holidays, one in five Australians are expected to getaway, and 56 per cent planned to escape over one of the school holiday periods.

By 2027, expenditure on domestic overnight trips was forecast to reach $138bn, up from $69bn in 2022.

Originally published as Australia’s inland towns outrank coastal centres for domestic travel