New research has revealed that travellers are increasingly looking beyond the usual tourist hotspots, keen to visit places they don’t see on social media.
The findings from Intrepid Travel also reveal 57 per cent of travellers are actively prioritising off-the-beaten-path destinations, signalling a significant shift away from over tourism hotspots.
At the same time, 48% say ease of planning is more important than it was a year ago and 86% say local guides give them the confidence to take more complex trips.
Brett Mitchell, Intrepid Travel ANZ Managing Director, said small group travel was making less familiar destinations far more accessible.
“We’re seeing more travellers looking beyond the destinations they’ve already seen all over social media and seeking experiences that feel more authentic and rewarding. Places like Central Asia, Borneo and South Korea offer incredible cultural and natural experiences, but they can be more complex to plan independently. That’s where small group travel really comes into its own,” Mr Mitchell said.
Intrepid’s own booking data backs the trend, with Central Asia up 37 per cent year on year, Borneo up 68 per cent and South Korea up 35 per cent.
Intrepid has availability across five destinations for Australians still looking to book a July or August escape.
Central Asia’s 17-day Explorer travels through Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, going from mountain yurts to Samarkand’s Registan Square.
In India, the 15-day Classic Rajasthan trip includes Delhi, tiger spotting at Ranthambhore and a night in the centuries-old heritage fort of Madhogarh.
Borneo’s 11-day Sabah Adventure combines orangutan and pygmy elephant sightings with a sunrise climb of Mt Kinabalu.
Further afield, the eight-day South Korea Real Food Adventure explores the country’s culinary scene through a local lens, while the 16-day Central American Journey takes in five countries from Guatemala to Costa Rica, with cloud forests, active volcanoes and abundant wildlife along the way.
