Aussie travellers seeking new directions

Nepal had the second biggest increase of Australian travellers with nearly 27 per cent. Source: National Features

AUSTRALIANS are increasingly taking roads less travelled, as their confidence as globetrotters grows.

Buoyed by the high dollar, Australians took a record 8.2 million international trips last year - up five per cent on the year before.

New Zealand, Indonesia and the United States continued to be the most popular destinations, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics figures.

But Japan saw the biggest growth in Australian travellers as it continued to bounce back from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

While coming off a low base, Nepal had the second biggest increase of nearly 27 per cent, followed by French Polynesia (Tahiti) at 26 per cent.

Austria, Chile, Pakistan, the Cook Islands, Sri Lanka and Poland also saw big rises while Fiji saw a slight drop in Australian tourists, thanks to natural disasters such as floods and cyclones.

Flight Centre's Colin Bowman said Australians were becoming more experienced travellers and starting to explore lesser-known destinations.

''They have done Bali so they might think: 'What about Tahiti?','' he said.

''They are looking for adventure and a different experience so that's why you're seeing places like the Cook Islands, Nepal and Mexico becoming more popular.''

But Mr Bowman said more traditional destinations were seeing bigger rises in terms of actual numbers.

''There's lots more choice for people going to the US in terms of carriers,'' he said.

''A lot of Australians are travelling to Hawaii because there's great deals there, New York is back on the radar and Qantas is flying to Dallas.

''Thailand benefited because Fiji had its troubles the year before with adverse weather.''

Mr Bowman said Australia's love affair with Bali continued thanks to cheap airfares and tourism businesses there catered well to holidaymakers looking for short breaks.

He said Australians were resilient travellers and couldn't stay away from Japan for long.

''People are going back to Japan for skiing and also supporting the country,'' he said.

Top 20 destinations in 2012
1. New Zealand +0.25%
2. Indonesia (Bali) +4%
3. United States +8%
4. Thailand +13%
5. UK +1%
6. China +3%
7. Fiji -1%
8. Singapore +6%
9. Malaysia +0.5%
10. Hong Kong +2%
11. Vietnam +3%
12. India +12%
13. Philippines +10%
14. Japan +29%
15. Italy +2%
16. France +7%
17. Canada +6%
18. Papua New Guinea +8%
19. Germany +15%
20. South Africa +5%

Fastest-growing destinations
1. Japan +29%
2. Nepal +27%
3. French Polynesia (includes Tahiti) + 26%
4. Austria +26%
5. Chile + 26%
6. Pakistan +24%
7. Cook Islands +23%
8. Sri Lanka +22%
9. Poland + 19%
10. Ireland +19%
11. Sweden +17%
12. Germany +15%
13. Brazil +15%
14. Thailand +13%
15. Israel +12%
16. Mexico +12%
17. India +12%
18. Tonga +12%
19. Turkey +12 %
20. Cambodia +11%
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics Overseas Arrivals and Departures 2012

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