Land of free is where we wanna be

The US city who's marketing boss thinks Australia needs to advertise more, shows us how it's done

Las Vegas is among the most visited cities in the world.

TRAVEL mad Aussies are not being deterred by the weaker dollar with the US shaping up to be the most in-demand destination of 2016.

A survey of more than 1000 users of travel booking site Wotif.com found the US was the number one choice for a holiday next year followed by New Zealand, Italy, Japan and Canada.

Times Square ... One of the many reasons Aussies love the US. Picture: AFP/Jewel Samad.Source:AFP

Just over half of those surveyed said the declining dollar would not influence their travel plans, while the other 47 per cent said they would go somewhere that still offered good value for money, or not travel at all.

Wotif spokeswoman Kim Stockham said it was possible the weaker dollar would see more Aussies holiday at home next year but certainly not all.

“As seasoned international travellers, many Australians won’t be changing their overseas travel habits,” said Ms Stockham.

“With the US featuring on many Aussie-traveller ‘bucket lists’ for 2016 we predict Hawaii, being so close and so affordable, will be a strong destination in the New Year.”

Another travel site, Skyscanner.com.au is backing Bali to be the most popular place for holidaying Aussies over Christmas.

Lush ... Easy to see why Australians’ love affair with Bali is showing no sign of waning. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied

Despite recent flight disruptions caused by volcanic ash, travel searches for Bali have outnumbered those for other favourite summer getaways, including Auckland and Sydney.

Melbourne and Perth also featured strongly followed by Singapore, Brisbane and Phuket.

One of the more surprising features of the list was the absence of London which slipped out of the top ten most searched for destinations, replaced by Nadi in Fiji.

Hot ... Auckland remains one of Australians’ favourite places to visit. Picture: iStockSource:Supplied

Senior Marketing Manager for Oceania Skyscanner, Emily Callahan said it was not unusual for Australians to leave holiday bookings to the last minute.

“Last year search data revealed that 17 per cent of Aussies on Skyscanner were still searching for domestic flights during the week of Christmas, and potentially paying around 25 per cent more than the average fare price for the year,” Ms Callahan said.

“As flight fares tend to fluctuate due to sophisticated price management systems, it is best not to leave booking to the last minute.”

Australian Bureau of Statistics data for December last year revealed 160,700 Aussies flocked to New Zealand, and 101,300 travelled to the US.

Indonesia was third with 98,500 Aussie visitors, followed by the UK (59,800) and Thailand (54,700).

The Australian dollar was yesterday worth. $1.09 in New Zealand, 96 cents in Canada, 72 cents in the US and 47 cents in the UK.

First choice ... Melbourne was the most popular city to book at lastminute.com.au Pic: David Caird/News Corp AustraliaSource:News Corp Australia

For those opting to stay at home, Melbourne was getting most interest of all capital cities on lastminute.com.au, followed by Perth, Hobart and Darwin.

Queensland’s Whitsundays was top of the pops with beach lovers, ahead of the New South Wales’ North Coast, and then the South Coast, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast.