Flights to top Aussie holiday destinations cheaper than before pandemic

Searches for international flights have surged since Australia reopened its borders earlier this year, with Aussies clearly keen to get back to their favourite holiday destinations.

Despite facing prices over 40 per cent higher on average than before the pandemic, Aussies can still snatch a bargain if they know where to look.

According to online travel agents KAYAK, searches for international flights have increased by about 58 per cent since the beginning of February.

Aussie favourite destinations like Bali, London, Los Angeles and Auckland have all seen far higher levels of interest over the past month.

Some top spots have even bucked the prevailing trend and on average seen a reduction in price since before the pandemic, according to the website.

They include Bali’s Denpasar airport, Fiji capital Nadi and Phuket in Thailand.

SYDNEY AIRPORT — Interestxjmtzyw in international flights has surged 58 per cent since the beginning of February. NCA NewsWire/Joel Carrett Credit: News Corp Australia

According to searches on the company’s website, flights to Bali are averaging three per cent cheaper than before the pandemic at $633, Nadi is two per cent cheaper now, at around $647 a ticket, and tickets to Thailand are 3.5 per cent cheaper at around $739.

The biggest drop, however, has been flights to New Zealand adventure capital Queenstown, which are on average 14 per cent cheaper, costing around $706.

Travellers unfortunately won’t save money on all flights compared to before the pandemic, but that is not stopping plenty of people from searching for tickets.

The top three destinations by search volume on the company’s website were Indian capital New Delhi, Nepal’s Kathmandu and Manila in the Philippines.

Australia has large populations of migrants and students from these countries, with much of the interest likely explained by those longing to return home to visit family, while being able to get back into Australia afterwards.

Other destinations tickling Aussies’ fancy which are traditionally more tourist focused were Bali, Auckland and Los Angeles, which came in at numbers five, seven and 10 on the list of most searched for flights.

With New Zealand reopening to Australians from April 12, searches on trans-Tasman flights have seen the biggest increase since last month.

Searches on flights to Wellington and Christchurch are both up around 250 per cent, while Dunedin and Auckland are drawing around 200 per cent more interest than before.