Japan was the most searched for travel destination by Australians on Google over a 20 year period. Photo: iStock
Google has released a list of Australia’s top-searched destinations of the last two decades, with Japan topping the list.
The search engine released the travel insights to mark Google’s 20th anniversary in Australia this October, with Japan in the number one spot, followed by New Zealand and Thailand ranked second and third, respectively.
Before the closure of international borders, Japan was the fastest growing overseas destination for Australian travellers, with the number of Australian visitors growing 17 per cent between 2017 and 2018, and 324 per cent in the decade prior to the pandemic. Japan was also the most-searched overseas destination on Traveller.com.au before the international border controls were enforced.
Google’s findings point to a Japan travel comeback, as the Land of the Rising Sun prepares to reopen for mass tourism on October 11 for the first time in more than two years.
Japan has been slow to welcome international visitors back following COVID-19 border closures, choosing a multi-phased reopening plan that began with guided group tours, then unguided package tours, before finally setting a date to resume independent travel for foreign visitors.
Since the Japan border reopening announcement on September 23, online travel agencies have reported a surge in Japan searches and bookings.
Webjet reported a 322 per cent spike in bookings from Australia to Japan in the five-day period following the reopening news.
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Webjet OTA CEO David Galt said: “This quick response in bookings made continues to highlight how eager Aussies are to return to one of our most beloved holiday spots.”
The tourism comeback is being further fuelled by bargainous exchange rates, with the Australian dollar trading at its highest against the Japanese yen in about seven years, buying 93.91 yen. The exchange rate gets Australian visitors almost 30 per cent more yen than at the same time in 2019.
Google published some of its 20th anniversary in Australia insights in a blog post covering a range of search topics and trends, including ‘how to’, news, cooking and more.
Google’s top searched travel locations of the past 20 years:
1. Japan
2. New Zealand
3. Thailand
4. Vietnam
5. Tasmania
6. Australia
7. Cambodia
8. Bali
9. NSW
10. Borneo
See also: Japan is opening – here are 20 reasons to book your trip
See also: Twenty things that will surprise first-time visitors to Japan
