Destinations you have to visit before they get overcrowded

VENICE, ITALY - MAY 18, 2012: Tourists in the crowded the bridge in Venice.
By laurencroft


Wish you visited Bali or Croatia 50 years ago, before they became overrun with tourists?

Now you can!

Well, not exactly Bali or Croatia – but these destinations are definitely worth a visit before they’re on the rest of the world’s radar.

Luckily, KAYAK.com.au has released its annual ‘Better-Now-Than-Later’ travel report, to help Aussie travellers discover up and coming destinations before the crowds pour in. Which means you can forget travel hotspots where you have to fight through the crowds.

With 64 per cent of APAC travellers opting to visit new destinations each time they travel, KAYAK.com.au has analysed data from millions of searches to predict the upcoming popular destinations to visit before the crowds come rushing in.

The 2018 travel report reveals the top 10 emerging destinations deserving a spot in your travel checklist. The report looks outside of the top 30 most-searched list by Aussies, and instead focuses on the lesser-known destinations which are seeing significant increases in searches by Australian travellers.

Asia dominates the top four spots of emerging destinations for Aussie travellers. Cities such as Kochi, India, Kathmandu, Nepal, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and Cebu, Philippines have seen search volume growths of over 100 per cent since 2017. Whilst Asia has long been a popular region for Aussie travel, the increase in popularity of these lesser-known cities demonstrates that Aussies are looking to get off the beaten track and enjoy authentic travel experiences.

Aerial view of sandy beach with tourists swimming in beautiful clear sea water of the Sumilon island beach landing near Oslob, Cebu, Philippines. - Boost up color Processing.

It seems Aussies are also steadily becoming history buffs, as flight searches to old cities with strong histories have also grown. These include; Cairo, Egypt (90 per cent growth); Istanbul, Turkey (88 per cent growth); Beirut, Lebanon (77 per cent growth) and Osaka, Japan (75 per cent growth).

Germany has carved a well-deserved role amongst Aussies as one of the trendiest countries in Europe, with the cities of Berlin – known for its imposing architecture, graffiti and techno clubs and Munich, home to Oktoberfest, both appearing in the top 10 list after each seeing a 72 per cent increase in searches from Aussies.

Berlin, Germany - February 13 2009: Part of "East Side Gallery" on the largest (1,3 km) and best kept segment of the Berlin Wall, just before overall wall restoration.

Robin Chiang, Regional Director, APAC of KAYAK said that while bigger destinations draw in the most visitors, lesser-known destinations are also worth a visit.

“Famous cities are magnets to tourists but there are many other worthwhile destinations that merit a place in your year-end and 2019 travel wishlist. KAYAK looked through its travel data and created this report to encourage travellers to discover some other,less-talked-about destinations that are currently trending,” he said.

“From this year’s results, it’s clear that more Aussie travellers are willing to travel further outside their usual favourites, to discover places in India, Nepal and Lebanon. The ‘ When To Book ’ feature in our Travel Hacker Guide is the perfect tool for Aussies to plan their next vacation.

“It helps to determine the best time to book flights and ensure users are getting a good deal.”

Check out the top ten emerging destinations for Australian travellers below:

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