NZ Losing Its Allure for Australian Tourists

For the first time since tourism records were kept, New Zealand is not the top destination for Australians looking for an overseas holiday.

Balinese surfers hold their sufboards during sunset at Kuta beach near Denpasar, on Indonesia's resort island of Bali on May 13, 2017. Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP via Getty Images

For as long as tourism records have been kept—almost 50 years ago—New Zealand has consistently been the most popular destination for Australians looking to holiday overseas. But not any more.

Indonesia—which overtook the United States as the second most popular in early 2014—now tops the list, with around 1.37 million Australians heading there last year (86 percent of them for a holiday), while 1.26 million travelled to New Zealand.