CRUISING
Cruising has skyrocketed in popularity among Australian holidaymakers and the industry is predicted to continue growing.
Earlier this year, Carnival Cruises CEO Ann Sherry told AAP the market has seen "amazing" growth.
"We've gone from 100,000 people cruising five years ago to ... nearly 800,000 people this year, so incredible growth and that's because we've brought great ships into the market," Sherry said.
This year saw the arrival of Carnival Spirit, the newest and largest ship to be home-ported year round in Australia, as well as the Queen Mary 2's maiden circumnavigation of the country.
MYANMAR
When it comes to destinations, Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) takes the cake in popularity.
With the easing of travel sanctions and the release of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, adventurous Australians have jumped on the Myanmar bandwagon.
Even the world's leaders have been heading there, including Foreign Minister Bob Carr, and more recently US President Barack Obama.
As a consequence, a handful of new luxury hotels are under construction in Yangon (Rangoon) and the government is upgrading transport links at main tourist destinations.
According to German press agency DPA, between January and April this year, foreign visitor numbers were at 175,000 arrivals, up 35 per cent.
LONDON
With the London Olympics in July and August, and the Paralympic Games following, it's no surprise all eyes were on our home away from home.
"With a favourable exchange rate, good airline connections into regional Britain and competitive airfares, Australians are experiencing more of Britain's rich heritage, culture and countryside than ever before," says VisitBritain's Mark Haynes.
A travel.com.au report reveals flights to the UK, departing in June, were up 68 per cent on last year, while flights to Europe overall, (departing June) were up 24 per cent.
Of those travelling in June, the majority held a ticket to London, with the city coming in as the most popular European destination.
Travel.com.au general manager Renee Welsh says London has proved more popular than ever thanks to the Diamond Jubilee and Olympic celebrations.
London was also ranked the highest out of European destinations in a Hotels.com chart of top overseas destinations for Australian travellers. The city came in fifth place overall, with the top four spots taken by US cities.
EUROPE
Although attention was on London this year, the Olympics helped highlight the whole of Europe at a time when they needed our tourist dollars.
"Europe has been winning the hearts of Australian travellers in 2012," says lastminute.com.au general manager Kirsty Labruniy.
"While flight bookings via lastminute.com.au for London were up on the same period last year, it was Dublin, Paris, Barcelona, Edinburgh and Geneva that saw the greatest increase in visitors," says Labruniy.
Welsh, from travel.com.au, says thanks to the strong dollar and cheaper flight prices in 2012, Aussies travelled to European destinations which weren't previously top of mind.
A travel.com.au report listed France and the Netherlands as the second and third most popular European destinations (after the UK) in June, with bookings up 91 per cent and 26 per cent respectively year on year.
Russia and Sweden also experienced unprecedented growth, with June flight bookings up 92 per cent and 91 per cent respectively on 2011.
INTERNATIONAL OVER DOMESTIC
It's nothing new that travel to international destinations has taken priority over domestic ones but the trend was evident again this year thanks to the continued strength of the Australian dollar.
For much of the year it traded above a dollar against the US dollar, reaching as high as $1.07 in February.
One Aussie dollar also bought, on average, 0.80 euros and 65 British pence.
Contributing to the slowing of the domestic market were major natural disasters such as the 2010-11 and then 2012 Queensland floods and the 2011 Victorian floods.
ACTIVITIES
You only have to look at travel and food blogs to realise just how much they're intertwined these days.
For example, www.notquitenigella.com, which is about great food from top restaurants around the world, has more than 7000 Facebook fans.
Tourism boards both in Australia and overseas are also jumping on the foodie bandwagon, promoting events such as Margaret River Gourmet Escape, to travel audiences.
Adventure travel also continues to be strong, especially Mud Runs and domestic day trips based around activities such as commando-style obstacle courses.
ALASKA
More Aussies have been exploring the wilds of Alaska than ever before.
Tourism figures this year showed that Australia and New Zealand took over from the UK as the number one region when it comes to international visitor numbers to the American state.
The international market to Alaska grew slightly from nine to 10 per cent, and Australia and New Zealand make up 27 per cent of that pie.
Kathy Dunn, State of Alaska Tourism marketing manager, says when the results came through this past year it was a huge surprise.
She puts the growth down to Aussies and Alaskans having the same mindset.
"Australians are adventurous and they want to get out and explore backcountry areas," she says.
Of those Australian/New Zealand travellers, 90 per cent went cruising.
MAINLAND AMERICA
Our favourite USA haunts continue to be on our wish lists.
In a Hotels.com chart of top overseas destinations for Aussie travellers, US destinations occupied the first four places in 2012.
New York was in top position, followed by Las Vegas, Honolulu and Los Angeles, the data found.
MORE A380S
It seems like Aussies can't get enough of A380s, with Dubai-based Emirates and Singapore Airlines adding extra services to Australia using the double decker superjumbos.
In July, Singapore Airlines said it would add a second daily A380 service to Melbourne, in addition to its two daily A380s services to Sydney.
In October, Emirates added the Victorian capital as its second Australian port to get the superjumbo and has flagged bringing the A380 to Perth.
Thai Airways says it will fly its A380 to Sydney from September next year, and other carriers such as Etihad and China Southern have also spoken of using their soon-to-be-delivered A380s on their flights into and out of Australia.
BOOKING HABITS
Despite the strong dollar, Aussies still like to get the best bang for their buck with earlybird travel deals.
A recent survey of more than 11,500 Australians reveals 21 per cent of Australians have booked travel to the UK and Europe two to three months in advance.
A further 22 per cent locked in similar trips six to 12 months prior to departure.
The surveyor believes this early booking trend is due to busy lives and the value in booking travel in advance.
Sixty per cent of Aussies surveyed voted price as the number one influencer when booking a holiday, she says.
"Interestingly, only 18 per cent voted the airline as an influential factor when purchasing flights."
HOTELS
When it comes to where we like to rest our heads, accommodation with environmentally-friendly credentials are top of mind.
Eco-friendly hotels are massively on the rise across domestic and international destinations, with a 167 per cent increase in searches by Australians compared to 2011.
Overwater accommodation is also becoming more popular, with a 138 per cent increase in searches on last year.
We're not interested in roughing it either, with a 100 per cent decrease in searches for 1-star accommodation.
LATIN AMERICA
Although Australians have a strong tradition of travelling to North and South America, 2012 has seen growing interest in Latin America also.
Destinations such as Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands are becoming more affordable to reach.
Travel company Contiki has noticed the growth and as a result has added Costa Rica and Ecuador to its 2012/13 Latin America schedule.
"Although we're 50 years old ... Contiki continues to have its finger firmly on the pulse responding to overwhelming consumer demand for more tours in this region," said Contiki managing director Fiona Hunt earlier this year.
Source: AAP
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Contact your local Ucango Travel Consultant on 1300 822 646 or email info@ucango.com.au for more information or bookings on any of the above travel trends.
