What’s hot for Schoolies

Over two weeks next month, tens of thousands of high-school leavers will descend upon a handful of locations around the country to party hard in celebration of finishing year 12.

“Schoolies” is showing no signs of going out of fashion, with an estimated 60,000 students expected to head to recognised schoolies hot spots alone. This does not take into account those who organise their own trips or choose a destination away from the madding crowds. Nor does it take into account all of those who will be heading overseas, making the most of cheap flights and the buying power of the Australian dollar.

The brand leader of Student Flights, Darren Lloyd, says there has been a huge increase in demand for overseas schoolies trips over the past two years. ”Destinations like Fiji, Bali and Vanuatu top the list,” Lloyd says. ”The cost of a schoolies package overseas is comparable in price to a week at the Gold Coast, so more parents are encouraging their school leavers to join an organised overseas trip.”

Student Flights works with Unleashed Travel, a dedicated schoolies operator that has options including “schoolies only” trips where a whole island resort is chartered and only 17- and 18-year-olds are allowed.

Lloyd says while many school leavers book organised packages through operators such as Unleashed, the total size of the market is not known. ”Some schoolies are opting to ditch the schoolies week altogether and… (click here to keep reading this article by Jane E. Fraser)