When tourists think of Australia, the two cities that often come to mind are Sydney and Melbourne, but not anymore. There’s two new favourites.
According to a recent survey conducted by Flight Centre, the two popular cities ranked well behind Perth and Brisbane when it comes to the best places in the world to visit.
Based on more than 170,000 customer responses over the past year, the data compared the likelihood of the travel agency’s customers to recommend their recent travel destinations as great places to visit.
In fact, global travellers rated Perth and Brisbane as the two best cities in the world to visit, with Melbourne 8th on the list and Sydney 15th.
Perth’s satisfaction rating of 96 per cent was closely followed by Brisbane at 94 per cent and Queenstown in the south island of New Zealand also at 94 per cent.
Overall, Australia ranked in the top three most loved countries with a rating of 92 per cent, just behind the Cook Islands at 93 per cent and Portugal at 94 per cent.
Flight Centre global managing director Andrew Stark said there were some fascinating insights that show it’s not always the traditionally popular destinations that have something special to offer travellers.
“Australia shone overall in the results, with our own backyard delivering three of the top ten global destinations,” he told news.com.au.
“It really is a testament to our amazing tourism industry and the people and places that make this country such a special place to visit.
“While the classic tourist spots of Sydney and Melbourne may be the first to come mind for many international travellers picturing their ideal Aussie holiday, it was actually Brisbane and Perth that left the best impression.”
The survey revealed 91 per cent of people would recommend Melbourne after a stay, and 89 per cent Sydney, but Mr Stark said Perth had a near perfect score of 96 per cent, and Brisbane was a close second with 94 per cent.
“Even iconic places like Paris, New York and Tokyo fell short of our very own Perth and Brisbane,” he added.
“New Zealand was another crowd favourite with Queenstown and Christchurch claiming two of the spots in the top 10 cities list.
“In terms of highest rated countries, Portugal, renowned for its historic architecture and charming culture, came out on top, with the pristine beaches and friendly locals of the Cook Islands a close second.”
Acting managing director of Tourism WA, Steph Underwood said seeing Peth top the list was an amazing result for their capital city.
“Western Australia offers a unique blend of vibrant city life, pristine beaches and otherworldly natural landscapes, making it an unmatched destination for international visitors,” Ms Underwood said.
Perth, with more than 3,000 hours of sunshine annually, stands as Australia’s sunniest capital city.
Ms Underwood said with all of this on offer, “it’s no wonder” Perth scored 96 per cent in the travel survey and is recognised by global travellers as the “best city in the world to visit”.
“We look forward to welcoming repeat travellers again and again, and for those who haven’t yet discovered our dreamlike state, we encourage them to visit soon.”
