Online travel agency Trip.com has disclosed that based on pre-booked trips between January 1 and December 31 of next year, Perth appears to be the favourite Australian travel destination for 2020. The data includes both domestic holiday-makers and overseas tourists and surpasses the expectation that typical Aussie hotspots Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast would be most popular.
Interestingly, just in time, Qantas has revealed that the Australian airline and the West Australian Government will triple the number of seats available on the popular weekend fares program to Exmouth over six months in 2020. Approximately 300 special fares each weekend for selected flights between Perth and Exmouth (Learmonth Airport) between April and October 2020 will be available, totalling to more than 7800 of available fares. Qantas will also use the larger Airbus A320 aircraft rather than the Boeing 717 on weekends, to accommodate for the increased number fares/seats. These special weekend fares are currently available by purchasing directly through the Qantas website or through travel agents at least 45 days in advance, and are valued at $169 for a one way flight.
Qantas Domestic CEO Andrew David commented that “the extended offer and larger aircraft will give even more customers the chance to explore one of Western Australia’s most picturesque destinations and experience the wonder of Ningaloo Reef during whale shark season.”
Western Australia’s Minister for Tourism Paul Papalia said “The trial for these affordable fares earlier this year was extremely successful, with a 91 per cent take-up on fares, so we’re very pleased to be able to offer the same fares next year.” Mr. Papalia is referring to the first year trial conducted this year, where 150 seats available each weekend over a 3 month period from June to September and over 2,300 passengers capitalised on the discounted weekend fares, proving promising results.
The capital of Western Australia is also the most popular Australian destination for international visitors booking hotels in 2020 on Trip.com, with Adelaide taking second place and the Gold Coast coming in third. One particular attraction that appears to be intriguing foreign holiday-makers is Rottnest Island, a protected nature reserve that is home to Australian native marsupial, the quokka. Another area attracting tourist interest is Swan Valley, WA’s oldest wine growing region. It appears WA visitors are anchoring in Perth, enjoying Australia’s picturesque beaches, but then also extending out to more remote Australian nature areas.
It appears that Perth is also dispatching the most flights to southeast Asia from Australia in 2020, the Perth-Bali flights taking first place and Sydney-Bali coming in second, according to the data from Trip.com.
By Mariam Melkonyants