Australia’s Next Top Destinations: 5 Emerging Places To Add To Your List

Done Byron Bay? A little over Noosa? Not to worry: here are the next destinations to tick off across this great big backyard of ours.

Flight aggregator Skyscanner has been doing a little digging, looking over three years worth of data and crunching the figures from millions of flight searches to uncover the hottest upcoming places in Australia for travellers in 2017. And the place that’s seen the biggest jump in bookings? Norfolk Island.

Skyscanner figures show there has been a 12 percent rise in flight bookings to Norfolk Island, the small subtropical island in the South Pacific Ocean that sits half way between New Caledonia and New Zealand. Not too far from our other favourite Lord Howe Island, Norfolk is famous for its bush walks, beautiful clear surrounding seas, and historic sites that date back to the island’s first settlement by East Polynesian seafarers.

Esperance, found on the south coast of Western Australia, came in second on Skyscanner’s list. Home to one of the whitest sand beaches in the world, as well as pristine turquoise waters and bushland that blooms wildflowers come spring, Esperance is slowly becoming a hot-ticket spot for summer. Especially if you enjoy swimming, deep sea fishing, snorkelling and dramatic four-wheel drive safaris along an untamed coastline – and who wouldn’t?

Proserpine in the Whitsundays came in third, with emerging capitals Hobart and Canberra following suit.

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Skyscanner’s upcoming Australian destinations for 2017

#1 Norfolk Island (16% growth)
#2 Esperance, Western Australia (15% growth)
#3 Proserpine, Queensland (14% growth)
#4 Hobart, Tasmania (9% growth)
#5 Canberra, ACT (5% growth)

(H/T Escape. Lead image: thinboyfatter/Flickr)

Keen for something a little different? Start planning you next getaway with Qantas.