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It’s official: Australians still prefer their holidays horizontal.

A fresh batch of booking data from Luxury Escapes confirms what many travel agents have long suspected: that the nation’s most popular export is not coal, iron ore, or even Kylie, but the art of doing nothing on a tropical beach.

The company’s Agent Hub has crunched the numbers and revealed the five most-booked resorts for 2025. Who are the top performers?

  • Grand Hyatt Bali

  • Pullman Maldives Maamutaa

  • Ayodya Resort Bali

  • Shangri-La Yanuca Island, Fiji

  • Katathani Phuket Beach Resort

Each property offers three non-negotiables: a prime beachfront location, lavish inclusions (think buffets, bubbly and late check-outs) and, most importantly, the complete absence of guilt for achieving nothing more strenuous than turning a page of a novel.

The enduring love affair with tropical ease

“Australians are travelling primarily for leisure, and relaxation is the ultimate priority,” says Chris Brandon, Senior Manager of Agency Distribution at Luxury Escapes. “The trends report also found that the buffet breakfast was the most popular inclusion and that South-East Asia continues to be a preferred playground for Australians wanting to enjoy some luxe R&R.”

In other words: give us bacon, sunshine and a bottomless Bloody Mary bar, and we’ll call it a cultural exchange.

It’s a pattern as predictable as the morning tide. For decades, Australians have been escaping to the same glittering arc of islands between Phuket and Fiji not to explore, but to exhale.

Familiarity breeds contentment

While Instagram’s digital nomads chase new coordinates, the rest of us remain gloriously faithful to the familiar. Bali, Fiji, Thailand, and the Maldives, the destinations our parents honeymooned in, continue dominating the Australian imagination.

The Grand Hyatt Bali, still resplendent after all these years, delivers resort luxury on a reassuringly grand scale. Ayodya Resort Bali remains a family favourite with its languid lagoon pools and Balinese grace. Shangri-La Yanuca Island, Fiji, and Katathani Phuket Beach Resort prove that the classic South Pacific and Andaman escapes are irresistible.

And then there’s the Pullman Maldives Maamutaa, a property that makes even the most cynical travel writer admit defeat. It’s difficult to type while staring at water that shade of blue.

The philosophy of “flop and drop”

The industry calls it flop and drop, but there’s something deeper at work here, a quiet rebellion against the noise of modern life. Australians have had their fill of “bucket lists” and “life hacks”. They now want stillness, sun lotion, and the distant sound of someone else blending a cocktail.

It’s the travel equivalent of comfort food, nourishing not because it’s new, but because it’s familiar.

A buffet for the soul

Luxury Escapes’ data also highlights the triumph of the buffet breakfast. For generations, this daily ritual has been the most democratic of luxuries: a culinary arms race of pancakes, papaya and perfectly poached eggs. Brandon isn’t surprised by its popularity, nor would anyone who’s seen an Australian approach the pastry counter with competitive determination.

“The buffet breakfast remains the top inclusion across all regions,” he notes. “Travellers value generosity and the flexibility to dine, relax and unwind at their own pace.”

The verdict

If this latest research proves anything, Australians haven’t lost their appetite for the good life, just their patience for queues, spreadsheets, and 7 a.m. alarms. The new luxury isn’t a safari or a space hotel. It’s the right to flop, drop, and disappear beneath a frangipani tree for a week without remorse.

And perhaps, somewhere between the second mimosa and the third helping of waffles, to reflect that doing nothing correctly and without apology remains our most underappreciated national talent.

By Yves Thomas – (c) 2025

Read time: 4 minutes

About the Writer
Yves Thomas - Bio PicSomething quietly magnetic about Yves Thomas is the poised calm of someone who’s seen the world from both sides of the reception desk. A graduate of Bangkok University International, Yves earned her Bachelor of Arts in International Tourism and Hospitality Management and stepped straight into the beating heart of Thailand’s travel industry.
She worked with some of the country’s finest destination management companies, mastering the art of making other people’s holidays unforgettable.
In time, the call of the open road grew louder than boardroom meetings. Yves packed her bags, swapped conference calls for compass points, and set off to rediscover the joy of travel on her own terms. Somewhere between Chiang Mai and Copenhagen, she began to write small reflections that soon became her travel blog, a journal full of warmth and insight.
Now calling Hua Hin home, Yves has joined Global Travel Media to share those reflections with a broader audience, not as a publicist, but as a storyteller with a traveller’s soul and a professional’s eye for detail.

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