Australian city named best in the country, outweighing Sydney and Brisbane

Forget the golden sands of the Sunshine Coast or the wine trails that call Adelaide home, because Aussies have tipped this as the best city Down Under.

Forget the golden sands of the Sunshine Coast or the wine trails that call Adelaide home — because Aussies and international visitors alike all appear to have one city on their bucket list.

It’s home to the best coffee Down Under, and spruiks the best shopping across the country — and having just hosted the biggest star in the world, it’s no wonder Melbourne has shot to the top of the ‘most popular city’ to visit this year.

In new research commissioned by the Tourism and Transport Forum (TTF), a sample of 2000 travel intenders between the age of 18-65 revealed where they plan on visiting both domestically and abroad in 2024.

Melbourne has been tipped as the best city in Australia.

While Queensland came out on top as the most popular state or territory to visit, followed by NSW and Victoria — Melbourne beat Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart as the most sought after city across the country.

“It’s not surprising more Australians are planning to head to Melbourne for a holiday this year, with its thriving music and arts scene and world-famous events year-round,” TTF CEO Margy Osmond told news.com.au.

“Already this year Melbourne has hosted Taylor Swift and the Australian Open and will draw thousands more visitors for the upcoming Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Fringe Festival and much more.”

Having lost around 1.8 million visitors in the first half of 2020 alone as a result of COVID-19 restrictions and border closures, the results of the latest TTF data is a welcome nod that visitation rates are well and truly back.

With Taylor Swift in town as part of her global tour earlier this month, the city really came alive for both local and interstate visitors. Over her three days of concerts, planes filled with Swifties and packed trains poured concertgoers into the heart of Melbourne, enabling a welcome boost to hospitality, hotel and retail businesses across the CBD.

“Anyone who visited Melbourne last week for Taylor Swift was reminded that it truly is one of the greatest cities in the world. Melbourne is doing a fantastic job of reinforcing its reputation as a global events hub and will continue to draw visitors from around Australia and overseas this year,” Ms Osmond added.

Melbourne had a huge increase in visitors while Taylor Swift was in town. Picture: iStock

On the first night of her concert, Melbourne Airport declared a record day for passengers, while budget airline Jetstar announced a record February in a month that traditionally was a lot slower post-Christmas.

There were 96,000 fans with tickets at each of the three concerts bringing total attendance to 288,000, while hotel occupancy was at 88 per cent across Melbourne’s 35,000 hotel rooms and 54 new hotels.

The crown is another win for Victoria, with the city of Bendigo walking away with the top prize of ‘best town’ in the annual Wotif travel awards.

Having Taylor Swift in town saw a huge injection into Melbourne’s tourism sector. Picture: Getty.

Earlier this month, the online accommodation platform released the top spots to visit across the country, with experts tipping Bendigo as the best spot to book in 2024.

This year’s top 10 list featured a number of regional towns over coastal escapes, with Bendigo powering past Broken Hill, Katherine and Bathurst for the top gong.

The awards, which are in their seventh year, narrow down destinations based on the platform’s data index of accommodation affordability, quality and traveller feedback.