General News
8 September, 2026
Bali overtakes Japan in travel searches
Japan surged, Bali stayed consistent and China climbed sharply. New data shows just how quickly Australians’ travel interests have shifted over the past 20 months.
This content was created in partnership with Google Trends.
Australia’s love of travelling to Japan may have a new rival, with Bali now the most-searched location for the past two months.
Google Trends data from January 1, 2025, to August 31, 2026, analysed five of the most popular tourist locations for Australians: New Zealand, Japan, Bali, China and the USA.
Post-COVID, a weak Japanese Yen and a strong Australian dollar have drawn droves of Aussies north to the land of the rising sun.
Searches for Japan travel have more than doubled, going from an index score of 37 in August 2025 to 100 in January 2026.
Interest in the Golden Route (Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka) remained strong through the opening months, with scores of 96 in February and 94 in March.
But like getting a picture at Shibuya Crossing, all good things must come to an end.
The data showed Aussies' interest in Japan fell to 68 in April, 63 in May and 67 in June before dropping more sharply to 52 in July and 39 in August.
Meanwhile, the tried-and-tested Indonesian island stayed true.
Its index rose from 38 in January 2026 to 55 in March. It then fell to 52 in April and June, rose to 58 in July, and dropped to 49 in August.
Bali had previously topped Japan in single months, such as June 2025 (52 vs 35) and September 2025 (41 vs 38).
However, July and August 2026 mark Bali’s first sustained two-month lead over Japan.
Despite this recent shift, Japan remains significantly stronger overall in 2026.
Its average index score rose from 40.9 to 72.4, an increase of about 77 per cent.
Bali’s average rose from 33.6 to 48.9, up about 45 per cent.
The data suggests Japan’s recent decline reflects a normalisation from earlier exceptional interest rather than a collapse in Australian demand.
Additionally, China recorded the largest year-on-year increase among the five destinations, with its January-to-August average jumping from 13.6 in 2025 to 35.1 in 2026, up about 158 per cent.
Interest in our neighbours New Zealand also strengthened.
Its January-to-August average increased from 18 in 2025 to 30.9 this year, up about 72 per cent.
Interest peaked at 36 in March before easing to 26 by August.
The USA has demonstrated the weakest recent growth.
Its January-to-August average increased about 30 per cent, from 16.6 last year to 21.6 this year.
Stronger results in late 2025 and early 2026 helped.
These shifting rankings highlight how quickly Australian travel search interest has changed.
“This content is part of a paid partnership with Google to promote Google Trends.”