The wildly popular holiday island is no longer the most sought after overseas summer holiday destination for Aussies.
Data from the Expedia group published in The Australian now identifies Tokyo as the number one destination, with Bali second and Singapore third.
Osaka and Kyoto round out the top five.
Expedia brands managing director Daniel Finch described the results as “surprising”.
“For us Bali is always in competition with Fiji and Hawaii, with Bali usually coming in first so I was quite shocked when we ran our numbers and Tokyo’s come out on top,” Mr Finch said.
“As we dug into the data, it was less surprising because foreign currency is a big thing and with the yen not being as strong as it has previously been, that’s a good contributor to the interest.”
He also identified Japan’s food and culture as a major incentive for Aussies, as well as the winter weather.
“It might sound odd but wintry conditions are something that interest Australians, and the fact it’s only recently started to fully open up is a big driver, plus there’s a lot more direct flights into Japan.”
The Indonesian government might be happy with the results though.
Earlier this month it urged Australian tourists to not only respect local customs but explore more of the country beyond Bali.
The government named five potential “tourist hot spots” it wanted Aussies to consider visiting as a crackdown on tourism continues on the wildly popular holiday island.
“It’s time to promote more,” Deputy Tourism Minister Ni Made Ayu Marthini said in a speech in Melbourne on Sunday.
New measures introduced this year to control tourism in Bali have included an official tourist dos and don’ts list, a hotline for anyone to dob in misbehaving travellers, as well as a special task force to monitor foreigners’ activities.
From February 14, international travellers will need to pay a IDR 150,000 tourist tax, which is about $15.
Cost of living is impacting travel choices this summer too, according to Mr Finch, with encouraging signs for domestic tourism.
Places like Toowoomba west of Brisbane and Launceston in Tasmania were gaining some traction among holiday-makers.
Outside of the capital cities, the Gold Coast is the top destination followed by the Sunshine Coast and Cairns.
-with Chantelle Francis