Australians are historically some of the world’s highest spenders when it comes to travel,but this year, more and more Aussies are exploring cheaper travel options closer to home, writes Andrew Shelton.
Analysis of almost 649,000 searches on Cheapflights.com.au across January 2016 shows that 70 per cent of all flight searches were to Asia Pacific destinations, with Aussies spending more than 54,000 hours collectively (the equivalent of around six years) following their wanderlust.
These findings formed part of the Cheapflights Compass, a new annual research piece revealing the most affordable destinations across the Asia Pacific region. We know that getting the ultimate travel deal requires balance across affordable airport, departure day and booking time, and this study provides an inspiration point, uncovering hidden gems that will allow you to expand horizons, not your wallet.
Destinations
While the most popular search options were New Zealand, India, Philippines, China and Sri Lanka, bargain hunters can nab huge savings by instead looking to the most affordable airports – Indonesia, Thailand, Fiji, Malaysia and Singapore. For example, by choosing Singapore (one of the cheapest) over Manila (one of the most popular), you could save around $268 ex Perth, $263 ex Melbourne, $205 ex Darwin, $167 ex Sydney. Selecting Kuala Lumpur for business or adventure over Shanghai (one of the most searched destinations) could also deliver savings of $228 ex Brisbane, $241 ex Adelaide, $179 ex Melbourne and $149 ex Sydney, per fare.
The Cheapflights Compass breakdown also showed Bali’s airport ranked as the most affordable across every state bar Queensland (where it ranked second) and Myanmar’s Yangon emerged across the board as a highly affordable option, well ahead of more traditional off the beaten track destinations like Cambodia.
Departure days
With most Aussies seeking to fly out on Thursday or Friday, if you’re flexible on timing, shifting your departure day to a Wednesday could also help you save $25 per fare, while booking two to six months in advance rather than one to two months ahead will get you around $22 in savings per fare.
Check out the below summary to find how you could save more on your next holiday.
Top 10 most affordable Asia Pacific airports
From Sydney to:
| Denpasar-Bali, Indonesia | $482 |
| Singapore | $559 |
| Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | $561 |
| Port Vila, Vanuatu | $597 |
| Nadi, Fiji | $623 |
| Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea | $643 |
| Bangkok, Thailand | $644 |
| Langkawi, Malaysia | $650 |
| Penang, Malaysia | $651 |
| Phuket, Thailand | $705 |
 From Melbourne Tullamarine to:
| Denpasar-Bali, Indonesia | $494 |
| Singapore | $511 |
| Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | $558 |
| Penang, Malaysia | $630 |
| Langkawi, Malaysia | $649 |
| Bangkok, Thailand | $655 |
| Phuket, Thailand | $656 |
| Nadi, Fiji | $673 |
| Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | $674 |
| Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia | $683 |
 From Brisbane to:
| Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea | $542 |
| Denpasar-Bali, Indonesia | $569 |
| Port Vila, Vanuatu | $609 |
| Nadi, Fiji | $657 |
| Singapore | $688 |
| Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | $715 |
| Honiara, Solomon Islands | $733 |
| Noumea, New Caledonia | $792 |
| Manila, Philippines | $804 |
| Penang, Malaysia | $844 |
 From Adelaide to:
| Denpasar-Bali, Indonesia | $482 |
| Singapore | $695 |
| Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | $722 |
| Johor Bahru, Malaysia | $786 |
| Port Vila, Vanuatu | $805 |
| Nadi, Fiji | $805 |
| Bangkok, Thailand | $843 |
| Phuket, Thailand | $854 |
| Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | $868 |
| Manila, Philippines | $890 |
 From Darwin to:
| Denpasar-Bali, Indonesia | $479 |
| Dili, Timor Leste | $500 |
| Singapore | $510 |
| Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | $569 |
| Bangkok, Thailand | $645 |
| Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | $646 |
| Phuket, Thailand | $657 |
| Manila, Philippines | $715 |
| Phnom Penh, Cambodia | $758 |
| Balikpapan, India | $767 |
 From Perth to:
| Denpasar-Bali, Indonesia | $284 |
| Singapore | $347 |
| Penang, Malaysia | $378 |
| Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | $379 |
| Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | $461 |
| Phuket, Thailand | $477 |
| Bangkok, Thailand | $478 |
| Langkawi, Malaysia | $480 |
| Yangon, Myanmar | $520 |
| Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia | $536 |
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