Tag: Travel Destination

Australia – In the middle of months-long country lockdowns and travel restrictions, Australian and Kiwi locals are showing eagerness to travel with South Pacific island Mo’orea in French Polynesia and the Great Southern Region in Western Australia topping their destination wishlist for 2021, said a study by Australian-owned travel platform Vacaay.

The findings were based on users’ planned itineraries on Vacaay’s platform. Among their eyed destinations is also Whitsundays Islands in Queensland landing on the third spot. Canterbury region in New Zealand and North Australia’s Arnhem Land were also on travelers’ radar, entering the list as the fourth and fifth most favored destination respectively.

The study has also identified travel practices which are expected to be key trends by next year such as slow travel, with travelers’ itinerary having fewer destinations but with longer stay. Travelers are also forecast to indulge in luxurious travel experiences, with travelers having reserved a disposable income amid the lockdown.

Vacaay CEO Pete McKeon said, “In 2020 the world became a lot smaller. For some of us, the dream of travel stopped five kilometers from the front door, while others had an entire state as their playground. But no matter the restrictions, Australians have proven to be tenacious travelers. We’re greedily exploring our own backyard, sometimes literally, and we’re keeping the dream of travel well and truly alive for 2021,”

Malaysia – Online travel agency and metasearch engine Agoda has released its latest survey of most-searched destinations on agoda.com, where Kuala Lumpur is revealed to be the top-searched among Malaysians.

Kuala Lumpur was followed by Penang and Langkawi as the second and third most searched destinations, while similar local spots such as Port Dickson and Malacca rounded up the top five. Malaysians were also shown to shine interest in places outside the country with Thailand and Tokyo making it to the top 10 list. Meanwhile, national destinations such as Kota Kinabalu, Cameron Highlands, and Genting Highlands were also among the top searches. 

Kuala Lumpur remained the top destination for other types of searches such as for the couple, family, and solo travels while Bentong topped the list for group travels. Almost the same mix of places resulted from each category. Ipoh and Johar Baru entered the list for the couple searches. Malaysian families, on the other hand, were also keen for Korea as the country ended as one of top-searched for the family category. Meanwhile, the group travel search saw Allepey, Kuching, Koh Samui, and Taiping entering the list, while heightened liking towards international locations demonstrated among solo travel searches, with almost half being foreign countries such as Singapore and Taipei.

Agoda’s Vice President for Corporate Development Tim Hughes said that while Agoda’s search data shows that there has been a shift towards domestic destinations amid regulations for domestic travel, people are still dreaming about international travel adventures. 

“[Travelers] still have hope that travel corridors will open later this year to some key markets where COVID has been more contained, and are looking out for great deals for when they do,” said Hughes.