Tripadvisor has released its 2020 Year-in-Review that pulls the top trending searches in the Hotels, Restaurants and Attractions categories, looking for the most loved by locals, with the onset of the pandemic having had a profound impact on travel and tourism, yet despite COVID-19 concerns, 65 percent of Australian travellers are still dreaming about travel and looking for what’s safe and available in their own backyards.
In Australia, topping the list of local favourites were campgrounds, local barbecue joints and outdoor parks, with Jane Lim, VP for Global Markets at Tripadvisor saying, “Between the bushfires and global pandemic, 2020 has indeed been a tough year for Australians, especially those who have had to cancel trips and shelve travel plans. It’s definitely great to see that despite the limitations of travel, Australians are still actively supporting local businesses and out discovering what’s in and around the city,” said. “While a lot remains unknown in the year ahead, we remain hopeful and positive that travel will recover and we will all come back to travel safely.”
So here we go, a Tripadvisor, trip back in time to look at some of the most loved staycations, eats and activities this past year!
In line with the easing of lockdown measures and reopening of many local businesses in Australia, recent Tripadvisor site data shows that domestic bookings have increased to well above 2019 pre-pandemic levels, with their search data showning that despite not being able to travel, travellers are still researching, saving, exploring and dreaming about their next trip, outing or activity for when it’s safe again.
This year, Tripadvisor pulled the top trending searches in the Hotels, Restaurants and Attractions categories, looking for the most loved by locals, with these businesses chosen by an algorithm that takes into account bubble ratings and the number of reviews a business received from domestic reviewers in 2020.
From city-wide lockdowns to inter-state travel restrictions, it comes as no surprise that Australians want to be outside this year, with in Australia, trips and activities that take place in the great outdoors came up as some of the most searched for categories and a recent Tripadvisor traveller survey found that 42% of Australian travellers are most likely to pick outdoor and nature type destinations as compared to pre-pandemic.
Here are the top 10 campgrounds and parks that were most loved by locals this year:
| Top 10 Campgrounds
Most loved by locals in 2020 |
Top 10 Parks
Most loved by locals in 2020 |
| 1. Dongara Tourist Park
3. Caloundra Waterfront Holiday Park 5. Ingenia Holidays South West Rocks 6. BIG4 Emu Beach Holiday Park 8. Ingenia Holidays One Mile Beach |
1. South Bank Parklands
2. Kings Park and Botanic Garden 5. Flinders Chase National Park 7. Cook Park |
With the great outdoors come the country’s favourite pastime, the Australian barbecue, with having been through nearly a year of safe distancing and isolation, searches for local barbecue fare has been on the rise, with of course, this particular cuisine typically calling for a gathering of friends and family, something the pandemic has put a damper on this year.
So, check out the top 10 barbecue restaurants that were most loved by locals this year:
Jane Lim said, “Between the bushfires and global pandemic, 2020 has indeed been a tough year for Australians, especially those who have had to cancel trips and shelve travel plans,” and “It’s definitely great to see that despite the limitations of travel, Australians are still actively supporting local businesses and out discovering what’s in and around the city,” and “While a lot remains unknown in the year ahead, we remain hopeful and positive that travel will recover and we will all come back to travel safely.”
Methodology
2020 travel destinations is based on Tripadvisor platform data for domestic travel to popular destinations in Australia from 1 January – 30 November 2020.
Travel trends is based on a Tripadvisor Traveler Sentiment Survey of Australian respondents from October 16-20, 2020.
An edited report by John Alwyn-Jones
