What is the best city to visit in 2024? Airbnb reveals spots Kiwis are keen on

As the year draws to a close, many travellers are looking ahead to international trips they’ll take in 2024.

According to Airbnb, New Zealand travellers seem overwhelmingly interested in one particular country, and it’s not Australia or part of America or Europe.

The travel platform revealed the 10 destinations Kiwis had been searching for accommodation for 2024.

For Kiwi travellers heading overseas, Sydney’s Olympic Park was the top trending destination. Airbnb suggested this was driven by major international concerts such as Taylor Swift, Pink and Coldplay.

However, the next five top destinations Kiwis were searching for were in Japan.

Furano in Hokkaido was the second-most-searched destination, followed by Tokyo spots Shibuya City and Taito City.

Kutchan, a town in Abuta District, Hokkaido, was the sixth-most-popular, possibly due to it’s proximity to ski resorts such as Niseko Ski Resort.

This is no surprise to experts in tourism, many of whom said Japan would be a top spot for Kiwis to visit in 2024. The restart of direct flights from Auckland to Tokyo with this airline, and a strong exchange rate between NZ dollars and the Japanese yen, are just two explanations.

The rest of the list included spots in France, Texas, Canberra and Thailand, using search data from January 1 to September 30 2023.

Trending global destinations for Kiwi travellers:

1. Sydney Olympic Park, New South Wales, Australia
2. Furano, Hokkaido, Japan
3. Shinjuku City, Tokyo, Japan
4. Shibuya City, Tokyo, Japan
5. Taito City, Tokyo, Japan
6. Kutchan, Abuta District, Hokkaido, Japan
7. Les Allues, Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, France
8. Austin, Texas, United States
9. Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
10. Ao Nang, Krabi, Thailand

Trending New Zealand destinations for Kiwis:

The list of top domestic destinations searched by Kiwis is equally surprising. Instead of iconic tourist spots such as Queenstown, Northland or Auckland, the list shines a light on spots that are a little more off the beaten track.

The top searched destination was Lower Hutt, Wellington, followed by Aoraki/Mount Cook, Canterbury.

However, Waikato’s Thames and Ōhaupō took third and fourth place, with Mosgiel, Otago, rounding out the top five.

The latter half of the top 10 list features more familiar favourites such as Wānaka, Twizel and Lake Tekapo.

1. Lower Hutt, Wellington
2. Aoraki/Mount Cook, Canterbury
3. Thames, Waikato
4. Ōhaupō, Waikato
5. Mosgiel, Otago
6. Omarama, Canterbury
7. Karitane, Otago
8. Wānaka, Otago
9. Twizel, Canterbury
10. Lake Tekapo, Canterbury