Research shows travel restrictions aren’t stopping Aussies from planning their next holiday

Colorful Inuit buildings in residential district of Nuuk city with lake in the foreground and snow peak of Sermitsiaq mountain, Greenland
By Alexandra Coulton


International borders may still be closed, but new data shows that hasn’t stopped Aussie travellers from spending their time in self-isolation planning their next trip.

Research by Rome2rio has revealed the dream of overseas travel is being kept alive in Aussie consumers’ search data, with remote destinations seeing a boom in popularity growth.

The most searched destination was the US (20.6 per cent), followed by the UK (15.53 per cent), Canada (5.53 per cent), New Zealand (4.75 per cent), and Indonesia (3.62 per cent).

The COVID-19 outbreak has also spurred some unusual – and remote – destinations to boom. Overall searches for Greenland are becoming increasingly popular with a 338.89 per cent increase in searches in March compared with last year, with French Polynesia trailing second (100 per cent increase).

Aussies appear to be opting for travel options closer to home, with searches to countries in the ANZ region increasing by 13.04 per cent year on year. This was followed by searches to countries in Latin America and Africa, which have increased by 6.23 per cent and 2.74 per cent, respectively.

Other regions reported a decrease in searches, with searches to the US and Canada decreasing by 5.88 per cent, Europe decreasing by 19.5 per cent and Asia decreasing by 41.69 per cent.

Within the ANZ region, a number of countries have received a drastic uptick comparing March 2019 with March 2020, specifically: French Polynesia, where searches have increased by 100 per cent; Papua New Guinea, where searches have increased by 36.56 per cent; and Fiji, where searches have increased by 31.75 per cent.

Featured image: iStock/Vadim_Nefedov

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