Do you find yourself and your clients getting completely overwhelemded when choosing where to holiday?
Well, fret no more.
To help Australians travel with confidence in 2018 KAYAK.com.au has looked within its billions of annual search queries to create the first Australia Travel Hacker Guide to make travelling even easier for Aussies.
Launching today, the Travel Hacker Guide reveals the most popular, trending and bargain holiday spots and provides data-driven hacks on the best times to travel.
Adding to KAYAK’s suite of tools for smarter travel, the Travel Hacker Guide is full of insights and tips; providing rankings of the most popular and top trending destinations, the most affordable cities to fly to, as well as popular and trending hotels in each destination.
The ‘When to Book’ section displays the median airfare you can expect based on selected arrival and departure dates for any holiday, ensuring savvy travellers can plan and travel smarter in 2018.
Robin Chiang, Country Head of KAYAK, Australia says, ‘We’ve mined data from the billions of annual search enquiries on KAYAK.com.au to create the ultimate Travel Hacker Guide to help Aussies travel with confidence in 2018.
“Whether you’re looking to get ahead of the curve and visit one of the top up-and-coming destinations, or you’re looking to explore Australia through a staycation, our Travel Hacker Guide has you covered – helping you pick the best time to book and at the right price’.
Check out this quick glance at the first KAYAK.com.au Travel Hacker Guide reveals:
Trending Holiday Spots
Athens is soaring in popularity with Australians as their next preferred holiday destination, showing a year-on-year search increase of +109%.
Hidden gems in the Greek capital include Brettos, the oldest distillery in Athens and Anafiotika, home to tiny, quaint yet picturesque streets that are best explored on foot.
Through KAYAK’s Travel Hacker Guide, travellers can also discover the cheapest time to book their trip to Athens (six months in advance), when to travel (temperatures are highest and rainfall lowest from June to September), and trending hotels to book for their arrival (check out Royal Olympic Hotel and Athens Lotus Hotel).
Price Drop Destinations
Athens is closely followed by Chengdu, China as one of the top 10 trending holiday destinations that has seen the biggest increase in bookings (+94% year-on-year).
Chengdu also tops the list of the top 10 destinations with the biggest price drops, seeing a decrease in price of -28% year-on-year.
In fact, China holds the top three destinations with the biggest price drops, with Beijing (-25%) and Guangzhou (-20%) taking second and third place, respectively.
Popular Holiday Spots
Unsurprisingly, Bali still holds the top spot for the most popular holiday destination for Aussies, with multiple South Asian destinations featuring within the top 10, including New Delhi, Bangkok and Singapore.
Metropolitan cities such as London, Melbourne and Los Angeles have also proved popular with Australian travellers, with all three featuring in the top five most travelled-to destinations.
Domestic Holiday Spots
For those looking for a staycation, the Sydney vs Melbourne rivalry is still going strong, with Melbourne beating Sydney to the number one domestic holiday spot for the second year in a row.
Meanwhile, the Sunshine Coast, QLD and Canberra, ACT were new additions to feature in the top 10 domestic holiday spot roundup.
Top 10 Trending Holiday Spots
| Rank | Trending holiday spot | Increase in number of searches year-on-year |
| 1 | Athens, Greece | +109% |
| 2 | Chengdu, China | +94% |
| 3 | Da Nang, Vietnam | +73% |
| 4 | Malé, Maldives | +70% |
| 5 | Montreal, Canada | +58% |
| 6 | Zagreb, Croatia | +57% |
| 7 | Belgrade, Serbia | +53% |
| 8 | Birmingham, UK | +50% |
| 9 | Warsaw, Poland | +36% |
| 10 | Calgary, Canada | +35% |
Top 10 Destinations with the Biggest Price Drops
| Ranking | Top 10 destinations | Price drop year-on-year |
| 1 | Chengdu, China | -28% |
| 2 | Beijing, China | -25% |
| 3 | Guangzhou, China | -20% |
| 4 | Hanoi, Vietnam | -18% |
| 5 | Whitsunday Coast (Proserpine) | -17% |
| 6 | Osaka, Japan | -17% |
| 7 | Da Nang, Vietnam | -16% |
| 8 | Shanghai, China | -15% |
| 9 | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | -15% |
| 10 | Bengaluru, India | -14% |
Top 10 Most Popular Holiday Spots
| Ranking | Top 10 destinations |
| 1 | Bali, Indonesia |
| 2 | London, UK |
| 3 | Melbourne, Australia |
| 4 | Los Angeles, USA |
| 5 | Sydney, Australia |
| 6 | Auckland, New Zealand |
| 7 | New Delhi, India |
| 8 | Singapore |
| 9 | Bangkok, Thailand |
| 10 | Tokyo, Japan |
Top 10 Most Popular Domestic Holiday Spots
| Ranking | Top 10 domestic destinations |
| 1 | Melbourne |
| 2 | Sydney |
| 3 | Brisbane |
| 4 | Gold Coast |
| 5 | Cairns |
| 6 | Perth |
| 7 | Hobart |
| 8 | Adelaide |
| 9 | Sunshine Coast |
| 10 | Canberra |
