When it comes to winter holidays, you have pretty much two choices: go very cold or go very hot. Go on a trip in the snow, or at least somewhere mountainous, or travel north to the heights of Australia or the next hemisphere.
That's conventional thinking. You either embrace the winter chill with a good winter chill, or you stay away from it altogether.
So what's going on with Australian tourism trends? Last week, accommodation website Booking.com released its top 20 winter destinations in Australia - using accommodation searches on its site for July and August this year - and there was something interesting in there.
The top 10 had most of the usual suspects: the Gold Coast at number one, Sydney at three, Cairns at four, Brisbane at five, Jindabyne at six, Port Douglas at seven, Darwin at eight, Perth at nine, Canberra at 10. All of these destinations pretty much fit the standard dynamic - Sydney is relatively warm and sunny in winter, and Canberra has that deep winter chill that some people are looking for. The rest are a no-brainer, whether really hot or really cold.
The odd one out, then, is right up there at number two: Melbourne. Why is Melbourne so popular in winter? It's definitely not warm there. Most of all, it's grey and cold. However, it's not cold enough to snow and there are no mountains. What's more, most Australians have become accustomed to very bad news from Victoria in recent years. "The world's most closed city" doesn't exactly sound appealing for a holiday.
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In spite of all this, Melbourne seems like a surprise for a top winter holiday - especially a destination more popular than Cairns, more popular than Darwin, more popular than Sydney. And it's not just the domestic market that's excited. Last month, travel website Klook released its forward booking data, which showed Victoria was the number one state for international tourists and Melbourne the number one city. Beat Sydney. Beat the Gold Coast. In winter.
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So what's the problem?
I have a few theories. For a start, the history of confinements and other pandemic restrictions means very little to people currently travelling. Yes, there was a lot of bad news coming out of Victoria for a while, but most of us who didn't live through it will never understand the trauma. Besides, the world is open now, and we have short memories, coupled with a desire to forget the bad news. Containment schmockdown.
I imagine that Melbourne's popularity as a destination, even in the dead of winter, is also largely due to Sydneysiders. This may come as a surprise to some Melbournians who think they're locked in an intense, two-way rivalry with the NSW capital. But in my experience, just about everyone in Sydney loves Melbourne and would harbour a long-standing desire to return, even in winter, and even after enduring the worst summer ever.
I know I do. That's why I'm adding to the stats this week and travelling to the Victorian capital. I'm going there to do my two favourite things in Melbourne: eat and drink. The restaurant and bar scene in Melbourne is sensational. I can't wait.
In fact, the whole city is sensational. It pained me to see during the pandemic this feeling among Melburnians - real or imagined, I'm not sure, everything was so blown out of proportion at the time - that the rest of Australia was against them, that we were laughing at their misfortune.
For the most part, I don't think that's true, because again: we love Melbourne. I say that honestly and sincerely. That's why the city is so popular today, even in the depths of winter. We love everything about the place.
We love its restaurants and bars. We love its shops. We love its parks and gardens. We love its grunge and shine. We even love its numb river and intense coffee snobbery. It's perfect.
Of course, there's probably more to Melbourne's popularity as a winter destination. Consider the fact that the Mornington Peninsula and the Yarra Valley, two of Australia's best wine regions, extremely popular boozy and delicious destinations in their own right, are on Melbourne's doorstep. On accommodation website Wotif, searches for the Mornington Peninsula have increased by almost 160% this winter. People are excited, and if you want to visit either Mornington or the Yarra, you go through Melbourne.
There's also the Bellarine Peninsula and the Great Ocean Road nearby. Look north and you've got new hubs like Kyneton and Castlemaine, chic Daylesford, winey Heathcote and Nagambie. These are all excellent winter destinations, again accessible via Melbourne.
So maybe there's a lesson here: when it comes to winter holidays, you actually have three choices: really cold, really warm or Melbourne. You know which one I'm going for.
