Sick of winter already? It seems you’re not the only one.
As the cold weather really starts to bite, accommodation booking website Hotels.com is reporting a rush of interest in warm destinations. Searches for the Gold Coast and Cairns are up more than 200 per cent on last year, while many are taking advantage of the Aussie dollar’s buying power to seek sunshine overseas.
Koh Samui in Thailand is the “top pick” for those searching for a tropical winter getaway, according to the company. Hong Kong is also popular, with searches up more than 400 per cent on last year, while Samoa has made it into the top 20 destinations for accommodation searches.
Further afield, Hawaii continues to boom, with many retailers reporting it is one of their top-selling destinations. Hotels.com says New York is also in demand, with searches up more than 300 per cent on last year.
In Europe, the “hottest” destinations for Hotels.com are Turin in Italy, where accommodation searches are up about 370 per cent on last year, and Lucerne in Switzerland, where searches are up about 270 per cent.
There is also strong demand for stopovers in warm destinations, including Doha in Qatar and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
This article is an excerpt from Jane E. Fraser’s weekly travel column in The Sun Herald, Sydney.
