5 surprising travel trends that will influence you in 2023

Emily Murphy Emily Murphy
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Travel is back in a big way, and after years of hoping we could go back to a normal world, in 2023 we welcome “the no-normal".

As we travel head-first into another new year, there is a new wave of surprising travel trends that Aussies will be embracing in 2023.

Defined as “the no-normal", travel in 2023 is all about breaking routine and searching for experiences without compromises.

The research from Expedia Group was sourced from thousands of travellers and industry professionals across 17 countries, proving there is no one-size-fits-all travel in 2023.

Here are the five most surprising trends.

1. Culture capitals

No longer being confined to a five-kilometre radius or exploring national parks with no people in sight, we are looking more for city escapes where art and culture festivities are getting back to full swing.

Sydney was the only Australian city to make the top 10 culture capitals, with WorldPride set to ignite the city come February. It is in good company with Edinburgh, Lisbon, Tokyo, Dublin, New York City, Dubai, Montreal, Munich and Bangkok rounding out the list.

Cityscape of Sydney Harbour with the opera house to the left and the harbour bridge to the right
Sydney was the only Australian city to make the top 10 culture capitals, coming in at number 6.

Most of the destinations seeing the largest increases are all culture-rich cities with events like Edinburgh Fringe or the cherry blossom festivals at the forefront.

Cityscape of Edinburgh at sunset or sunrise
Art and culture festivals like Edinburgh Fringe entice travellers in 2023.

2. Concrete holidays

From world-class stadiums to vibrant new dining and lifestyle hubs, the energy and investment being fuelled into Australia’s major cities is profound.

In fact, there’s a whole suite of new hotels on the horizon in Australia that are highly anticipated. Think, The Ritz-Carlton, Mandarin Oriental and The Motley in Melbourne, 25hours Paddington, Capella and the W in Sydney, Rosewood Hotel and Dorsett Hotel in Brisbane and TRYP by Wyndham Pulteney Street and Vibe Hotel in Adelaide.

Cityscape of Melbourne's skyline
The energy and investment being fuelled into Australia’s major cities is profound.

Sydney and Melbourne are set to benefit most from this revitalisation, with both cities already seeing strong growth – Melbourne accommodation demand increased close to 130 per cent in the last year, followed by Sydney at almost 90 per cent.

Whilst capital cities are at the top of the list thanks to new hotels, major hubs such as the Gold Coast, Newcastle, Albury, Perth, the Grampians, the Blue Mountains, and the Central Coast are also trending as convenient local escapes.

Cityscape of Sydney's skyline
Both Sydney and Melbourne are already seeing strong growth in accommodation demand.

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3. Hay-cations

Rustic getaways are also on the rise, as travellers crave private stays with abundant space and exhilarating views.

Cue the hay-cation, offering an intimate escape in the Aussie countryside from converted barns to rural farmhouses.

Front of a cottage in Australian countryside
Travellers are heading to the countryside for more intimate holidays.

According to Stayz, demand for holiday homes in some of the country’s top rural destinations is up by more than 90 per cent. Interest in mountainside destinations with breathtaking views of lakes and rivers is also up by 50 per cent.

Man stokes fireplace in cosy farm stay.
Get cosy next to a fireplace and you’ll never want to leave. (Image: Renee Thurston)

The top five Stayz Hay-cation properties include:

  1. The Maple Lodge | Robertson, NSW
  2. Coolabah FarmHouse | Bungonia, NSW
  3. Rushy Creek Farm | Karrindale, WA
  4. Arbor Escape | Upper Colo, NSW
  5. Fawlty Farm | Taylor Bay, VIC
Two chairs sit beside a pool on lush green grass at a rustic farmhouse in Australia
Travellers crave private stays with abundant space and exhilarating views.

Not only that, but travellers are also exploring charming locations from high alpine places to farm-style escapes. Bright in High Country Victoria, Echuca in Victoria’s Central Murray region, and Yeppoon on Queensland’s Capricorn Coast are among the destinations that have seen the highest demand increase for farm-style escapes, and are also featured in our list of top 50 Aussie towns.

Inside the backyard of The Bootmaker's Cottage in Birregurra, Victoria, Australia
The Bootmaker’s Cottage in Birregurra is a travel favourite.

4. Foodie-menities

More and more travellers are seeking accommodation options that have kitchen facilities to cook their meals at home while away.

Buying from local supermarkets or farmer’s markets in the destination and cooking each meal can save up to $700 per trip.

Outdoor kitchen and dining area in Yarramalong
Cooking at your accommodation can save you massively.

Cooking with your friends and family is a popular group holiday activity with almost half of Aussie travellers saying this is something they value while travelling. The top cooking appliances Australians love to see in their holiday homes are outdoor kitchens, professional coffee machines, and deep or air fryers.

When it comes to location, alfresco dining is the most popular with 67 per cent of Aussies saying it’s the preferred place for their meals when on holiday.

Outdoor dining area and woodfired oven in Yarramalong
Alfresco dining is the traveller’s top pick.

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5. Set-jetters

We are definitely all guilty of watching a new TV show or movie and swiftly adding a new destination to the bucket list. And this is going to be a big travel trend in 2023.

Over two-thirds of Australians have considered booking a trip to destinations after seeing them on streamed shows or movies, whilst almost a third have actually booked.

Cityscape of New York City
Hands up if you’ve wanted to go to NYC because of a TV show or movie? (Image: Jens Honore)

From cooking shows to fantasies, dramas to documentaries, a quarter of Australians say the influence of streaming services on their travel plans has increased in the last 12 months.

Paris is of most interest to Australians based on the influence of streaming services (we’re looking at you Emily), followed by New Zealand, New York, Hawaii and Italy.

New Zealand mountainscape with person in the forefront
New Zealand is just as beautiful in real life as it is on screen. (Image: Spencer Wells)

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Emily Murphy
Emily Murphy is Australian Traveller's Email & Social Editor, and in her 4+ years at the company she has been instrumental in shaping its social media and email presence, and crafting compelling narratives that inspire others to explore Australia's vast landscapes. Her previous role was a journalist at Prime Creative Media and before that she was freelancing in publishing, content creation and digital marketing. When she's not creating scroll-stopping travel content, Em is a devoted 'bun mum' and enjoys spending her spare time by the sea, reading, binge-watching a good TV show and exploring Sydney's vibrant dining scene. Next on her Aussie travel wish list? South Australia and The Kimberley.
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Explore historic wine towns and sculpture trails on a 3-day self-guided Murray River cruise

    Ricky French Ricky French
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    Slow down and find your rhythm on a Murray River journey through time and place. 

    Trust is a funny thing. It seems not that long ago that my mother was insisting on pouring the milk into my cereal bowl, because she didn’t trust me not to slosh it over the table, and yet here I am on the Murray River at Mildura in far north-west Victoria, being handed the keys to a very new and very expensive luxury houseboat. 

    After a crash course in how not to crash, I’m at the wheel of the good ship Elevate – pride of the All Seasons fleet – guiding her upstream past red-ochre cliffs as pelicans glide above the rippled river and kookaburras call from reedy banks. There’s a brief moment of breath-holding while I negotiate a hairpin turn around a jagged reef of skeletal, submerged gum trees, before a cheer rings out and calm descends as the timeless river unfurls in front of us.    

    Murray River
    The Murray River winding through Yarrawonga. (Image: Rob Blackburn)

    Setting sail from Mildura 

    Murray River birds
    Home to a large number of bird species, including pelicans. (Image: The Precint Studios)

    A journey along the Murray River is never less than magical, and launching from Mildura makes perfect sense. Up here the river is wide and largely empty, giving novice skippers like myself the confidence to nudge the 60-tonne houseboat up to the riverbank where we tie up for the night, without fear of shattering the glass elevator (the boat is fully wheelchair accessible) or spilling our Champagne.  

    My friends and I spend three days on the water, swimming and fishing, sitting around campfires onshore at night, and basking in air so warm you’d swear you were in the tropics. The simplicity of river life reveals an interesting dichotomy: we feel disconnected from the world but at the same time connected to Country, privileged to be part of something so ancient and special.  

    Stop one: Echuca  

    19th-century paddlesteamers
    A historic 19th-century paddlesteamer cruises along the Murray River. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    The six-hour drive from Melbourne to Mildura (or four hours and 20 minutes from Adelaide) is more than worth it, but you don’t have to travel that far to find fun on the river. Once Australia’s largest inland port, Echuca is the closest point on the Murray to Melbourne (two hours 45 minutes), and you’ll still find a plethora of paddlesteamers tethered to the historic timber wharf, a throwback to the thriving river trade days of the 19th century. The PS Adelaide, built in 1866 and the oldest wooden-hulled paddlesteamer operating in the world, departs daily for one-hour cruises, while a brand-new paddlesteamer, the PS Australian Star, is launching luxury seven-night voyages in December through APT Touring.  

    The town is also a hot food and wine destination. St Anne’s Winery at the historic Port of Echuca precinct has an incredibly photogenic cellar door, set inside an old carriage builders’ workshop on the wharf and filled with huge, 3000-litre port barrels. The Mill, meanwhile, is a cosy winter spot to sample regional produce as an open fire warms the red-brick walls of this former flour mill.  

    Stop two: Barmah National Park 

    Barmah National Park
    Camping riverside in Barmah National Park, listed as a Ramsar site for its significant wetland values. (Image: Visit Victoria/Emily Godfrey)

    Just half-an-hour upstream, Barmah National Park is flourishing, its river red gum landscape (the largest in the world) rebounding magnificently after the recent removal of more than 700 feral horses. The internationally significant Ramsar-listed wetland sits in the heart of Yorta Yorta Country, with Traditional Owners managing the environment in close partnership with Parks Victoria. Walkways weave through the forest, crossing creeks lined with rare or threatened plants, passing remnants of Yorta Yorta oven mounds and numerous scar trees, where the bark was removed to build canoes, containers or shields.  

    The Dharnya Centre (open weekdays until 3pm) is the cultural hub for the Yorta Yorta. Visitors can learn about the ecological significance of the Barmah Lakes on a 90-minute river cruise, led by a First Nations guide, or take a one-hour, guided cultural walking tour along the Yamyabuc Trail.  

    Stop three: Cobram 

    Yarrawonga MulwalaGolf Club Resort
    Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club Resort. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    Continue east to Cobram to find the southern hemisphere’s largest inland beach. Swarming with sun-seekers in summer, the white sand of Thompson’s Beach is shaded by majestic river red gums and dotted with hundreds of beach umbrellas, as beachgoers launch all manner of water craft and set up stumps for beach cricket. But the beach is at its most captivating at sunset, when the crowds thin out, the glassy river mirrors the purple sky, and the canopies of the gum trees glow fiery orange. 

    The region is also home to some fine resorts and indulgent retreats. Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club Resort has two riverside championship golf courses, luxury apartments and self-contained villas. While not strictly on the Murray, the historic wine town of Rutherglen is rife with boutique (and unique) accommodation, including an exquisitely renovated red-brick tower in a French provincial-style castle at Mount Ophir Estate. Fans of fortified wines can unravel the mystery of Rutherglen’s ‘Muscat Mile’, meeting the vignerons and master-blenders whose artistry has put the town on the global map for this rich and complex wine style.  

    Stop four: Albury-Wodonga 

    First Nations YindyamarraSculpture Walk
    First Nations Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk is part of the Wagirra Trail. (Image: Carmen Zammit)

    Follow the river far enough upstream and you’ll arrive at the twin border cities of Albury-Wodonga. The Hume Highway thunders through, but serenity can be found along the five-kilometre Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk – part of the Wagirra Trail that meanders through river wetlands just west of Albury in Wiradjuri country. Fifteen sculptures by local First Nations artists line the trail, conveying stories of reconciliation, enduring connection to culture, local Milawa lore and traditional practices. It feels a long way from Mildura, and it is, but the pelicans and kookaburras remind us that it’s the same river, the great conduit that connects our country. 

    A traveller’s checklist  

    Staying there

    New Mildura motel Kar-rama
    New Mildura motel Kar-rama. (Image: Iain Bond Photo)

    Kar-Rama is a brand-new boutique, retro-styled motel in Mildura, with a butterfly-shaped pool and a tropical, Palm Springs vibe. Echuca Holiday Homes has a range of high-end accommodation options, both on the riverfront and in town. 

    Playing there

    BruceMunro’s Trail of Lights in Mildura
    Bruce Munro’s Trail of Lights in Mildura. (Image: Imogen Eveson)

    Artist Bruce Munro’s Trail of Lights installation, comprising more than 12,000 illuminated ‘fireflies’, is currently lighting up Mildura’s Lock Island in the middle of the Murray. Murray Art Museum Albury (MAMA) is a hub for contemporary art, with a rotating roster of exhibitions, and is a major outlet for young and First Nations artists. 

    Eating there

    Mildura’s diverse demographic means it’s a fantastic place to eat. Andy’s Kitchen is a local favourite, serving up delicious pan-Asian dishes and creative cocktails in a Balinese-style garden setting. Call in to Spoons Riverside in Swan Hill to enjoy locally sourced, seasonal produce in a tranquil setting overlooking the river.