"Australia a perfect place"

AUSTRALIA is still the world’s favourite holiday destination, in the judgment of seasoned international travellers in all age groups.

For the second year running, travellers from around the globe who took part in this year’s Lonely Planet « Travellers’ Pulse » survey have voted Australia as their number one getaway.

More than 33,000 people from 170 countries took part in the survey, answering questions about travel behaviour and motivations.

They were also asked to rate their favourite country, with 10 per cent of those surveyed preferring Australia above all others.

Australia was most popular among British and American travellers, and was even rated the best country by Aussies themselves.

Italy came in second with 6.3 per cent of the votes, followed by Thailand with 5.7 per cent.

Travellers in every age group also rated Australia as their first or second choice for their next holiday.

The independent survey was commissioned in March by several companies including Australia’s own travel guidebook company, Lonely Planet.

Lonely Planet’s survey analysts said Australia most likely took the top spots because of its « iconic nature » and « its placement as a long haul English speaking sunshine destination for UK and US respondents ».

Tourism Australia chairman Tim Fischer said the survey results may indicate that the controversial « Where The Bloody Hell Are You? » campaign is starting to see results.

« While it’s still early days for our global campaign … we are starting to see the indications that the campaign is resonating with our global target audience of experience seekers, » Mr Fischer said.

« This result highlights that Australia delivers the types of experiences that travellers are seeking – from the iconic nature and wildlife to the city lifestyle, and the friendliness of our people. »

The survey showed that travellers from all countries were increasingly shunning Indonesia in the aftermath of the Bali bombings, with Thailand soaking up the majority of these potential Bali visitors.

The survey also revealed short breaks are becoming increasingly popular amongst Australian travellers, with 12.3 per cent ranking cosmopolitan Melbourne as their number one choice.