Brush off your bikinis, slather on that sunscreen and get ready to enjoy a cool bintang on the beach because Bali is back in business!
Australia’s love affair with the Indonesian island has a long and coloured history, many making an annual pilgrimage on the regular pre coronavirus.
And now, it seems the Aussie love affair continues as scores of holiday makers rush to return to the tropical paradise, so much so that Bali has topped the pops for international holiday destinations post pandemic.
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In the year since Australia’s international travel ban was lifted and allowed fully vaccinated Aussies to jet off to idyllic, exotic holiday destinations for a change in scenery or temperature (or both), Expedia has confirmed that Bali is the destination that Aussies just can’t get enough of.
In data collected by the travel provider, Bali took out the top spot for post pandemic international travel destinations for Australians.
It was followed by London (which we can’t say is a surprise given it is a gateway to Europe) and then another tropical destination – Fiji.
Jatiluwih Rice Terraces, Bali, Indonesia Jatiluwih is one the famous locations in Bali for viewing the rice terraces.
(Credit: Getty)Other popular international holiday destinations included Singapore, Los Angeles, Hawaii’s island of Oahu and its capitol Honolulu, Bangkok, Paris, Auckland and Dubai.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, over five million Australians have made up for lost time and gone overseas since November last year. Of that cohort, 3.3 million people took a short-term trip, which is classified as travel that involves less than 12 months abroad.
June was the busiest month of the year for international departures with almost one million Australians leaving the country on short-term trips, up 71 per cent from May.
According to Expedia Senior Director Daniel Finch, destinations only a flight away like Bali were the most popular.
”Bali has always been a popular holiday spot for Australians, so it’s no surprise that Bali remains the top destination for travelers since international borders reopened a year ago,” he told The Australian.
The famous view from Nusa Penida.
(Credit: Getty)The return of millions of tourists surely comes as a relief to many who call the island home, with approximately 202,000 people living on less than $2 a day, according to local website Coconuts Bali.
It comes as no surprise then that when the local tourism industry was halted, it had a devastating impact on locals who lost their main source of income, pushing an estimated 36,000 additional workers from the tourism industry into poverty.
For now it seems, Bali is well and truly on the mend, as Aussies flock to their favourite holiday spot, known every bit as much for its beach clubs, swimming pools and cocktails as it is the locals who share their island home with the scores of tourists that visit each and every year.
Do you have Bali on your mind? We’ll catch you on the next flight!
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