Bali, Gold Coast: Aussies planning holidays for December despite coronavirus

Hopeful Australians are already planning holidays for later in the year, and research has revealed the spots they’re aiming for.

Australians are already planning holidays for later this year and the summer holidays, according to new research that reveals the first destinations on our hit lists.

Despite travel bans and border lockdowns that are still in place, Expedia has found hopeful Aussies spent the month of April researching holidays in the hopes leisure travel would resume towards the end of the year.

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Expedia’s data reveals December is the most popular month for future holiday planning, although some optimistic holiday-makers are looking at trips as early as September, most likely due to the school holidays.

There also appears to be an even split in interest between domestic and international destinations, however domestic tourism is likely to resume much sooner than Australia’s international borders reopening.

Aussies are keen to get back to the beaches of Queensland’s Gold Coast.

In terms of domestic holidays, the Gold Coast looks to be the top destination among people looking at holidays for October to December 2020, as well as January to February 2021.

Bali, which has long been Australia’s favourite overseas holiday destination, is the top choice among international destinations for the same periods.

MOST-SEARCHED FOR DOMESTIC SPOTS

For trips in October 1 – December 31, 2020

1. Gold Coast

2. Sydney

3. Whitsundays

4. Sunshine Coast

5. Melbourne

6. Cairns

7. Port Douglas

8. North Coast NSW

9. Perth

10. Byron Bay

For trips in January 1 – February 28, 2021

1. Gold Coast

2. Melbourne

3. Sydney

4. Whitsundays

5. Sunshine Coast

6. Perth

7. Port Douglas

8. Cairns

Bali is in our sights when international borders re-open.

MOST-SEARCHED FOR INTERNATIONAL SPOTS

For trips in October 1 – December 31, 2020

1. Bali

2. Oahu

3. Phuket

4. New York

5. Tokyo

6. Las Vegas

7. Fiji

8. Singapore

9. Los Angeles

10. Bangkok

For trips in January 1 – February 28, 2021

1. Bali

2. Oahu

3. Phuket

4. Singapore

5. New York

6. Tokyo

7. Las Vegas

8. Los Angeles

9. Fiji

Oahu is another overseas holiday spot we’re keen to return to.

The more popular destinations appeared to be ones offering sunny, beachside holidays, such as the Gold Coast and the Whitsundays in Australia, as well as Bali, Hawaii and Thailand overseas.

“This could be an indication of Aussies seeking a holiday with plenty of outdoor activities to enjoy the warm sunny weather after being inside for an extended period,” Expedia said.

The search results also suggested people are looking at longer holidays after COVID-19, with the average length of stay being searching for having increased compared to the same time periods in previous years.

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Expedia said December was month Australians most expected to get away.

“This is followed by September, which could be families planning their trips during the school holiday break,” the company said.

“Looking at the destinations for the summer months of January and February, Aussies are being more hopeful towards international travel restarting, with the 10 out of the top 15 destinations being overseas.”

Last week the Federal Government unveiled its three-step plan for easing restrictions after coronavirus, with permission for non-essential travel to be rolled out gradually.

According to the plan, unveiled on Friday, local and regional travel will be allowed in stage one.

Some interstate travel could begin in stage two, before expanding in stage three, when domestic tourism may begin to recover.

It will be up to the states and territories to decide when to reopen borders and resume tourism.

Australians have been warned not to get too excited about overseas holidays for a while yet.

“There’s nothing on our radar which would see us opening up international travel in the foreseeable future,” Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy said on Friday.

“We’re not looking at the border measures as we have said on many occasions (because) two-thirds of the cases in Australia have been from returning travellers.

“We’re not going to relax any of our border measures soon and we’re going to continue to quarantine all returning travellers because this virus is certainly in a much worse position in many other countries from which our citizens are returning.”

It is likely New Zealand will be the first destination Australians will be able to travel to.