Long the preferred destination for Australian travellers, New Zealand has fallen into second place as the latest Roy Morgan research revealed that the US has snared the top spot.
The latest Holiday Tracking Survey showed the land across the ditch slip from a peak of 14.7% just before the Christchurch earthquake of February 2011, to 12.4% in September 2013 – its lowest level since October 2008.
“With the declining popularity of New Zealand after the Christchurch earthquakes, the US is now the clear leader in terms of overseas holiday destinations at which Australians would like to visit in the next two years,” RM international director of travel Jane Ianiello said.
However, Tourism New Zealand general manager Australia Tim Burgess stressed that the Roy Morgan survey looks at all Australians as opposed to its target market of “active considerers” where brand preference is at a two year high of 59%.
Holiday arrivals are up 5.9% for the quarter representing a good quarter for this market with holiday stay days up 5% for the last 12 months, he added.
Meanwhile, England came in third place with 12% of Australians in the year to September saying they would like to visit. The destination’s popularity has been fairly consistent since 2004, according to Roy Morgan.
France and Italy continued to battle for fourth place, although France maintained a slight edge in September with 8.3% as compared to 7.7%.
