Global travellers have rated Perth as the best city in the world to visit, and Portugal as the most preferred country, according to exclusive data from Flight Centre, one of the world’s largest travel agencies. South Africans specifically rated Perth as their favourite city and Australia as their preferred country.
“These ratings don’t come as a surprise, especially since Australia is a strong VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives) market. And with South African Airways’ recently resumed direct Johannesburg – Perth route – and Qantas set to relaunch the same non-stop route in 2025 – it’s more convenient than ever for South Africans to make the trip,” said Sue Garrett, General Manager Supply, Pricing & Marketing at Flight Centre Travel Group.
Based on more than 170,000 customer responses over the past year, the data* compared the likelihood of Flight Centre customers to recommend their recent travel destinations as great places to visit.
Globally, when it came to cities, Perth’s satisfaction rating of 96 per cent was closely followed by Brisbane and Queenstown, both at 94 per cent. Regarding countries, Portugal earned first place at 94 per cent, with the Cook Islands and Australia not far behind at 93 and 92 per cent, respectively.
Flight Centre Global Managing Director Andrew Stark said the findings show a mix of travel preferences across the travel agency’s extensive network of destinations.
“There were some surprising results that go to show it’s not always the traditionally popular destinations that have something special to offer travellers. Portugal, renowned for its historic architecture and charming culture, came out on top of the best country list, with the Cook Islands a close second, likely due to its beaches and friendly locals. Australia also performed remarkably well as the third most recommended country, with three of its cities listed in the top ten – Perth, Brisbane, and Melbourne. New Zealand was another favourite, with Queenstown and Christchurch claiming two of the spots in the top 10 cities list,” commented Stark.
Cape Town also made an appearance, with the United Kingdom crowning South Africa’s Mother City as its highest-rated city to visit, with a satisfaction rating of 98 per cent.
Flight Centre’s data also revealed the airlines that South Africans prefer flying with.
The top three domestic airlines were Airlink, SAA, and FlySafair, with satisfaction ratings of 89, 87, and 86 per cent, respectively. Internationally, Singapore Airlines won gold with 86 per cent, followed by Emirates and Airlink, both with 85 per cent.
“It’s incredibly pleasing to see such positive customer feedback across the board. These results are a testament to the unwavering commitment to traveller satisfaction that defines the global travel and tourism industry,” Garrett concluded.
DESTINATION PREFERENCES BY MARKET
| Global traveller preferences
· Country – Portugal 94% · City – Perth 96% |
Australian traveller preferences
· Country – Japan 92% · City – Queenstown 94% |
| South African traveller preferences
· Country – Australia 97% · City – Perth 98% |
New Zealand traveller preferences
· Country – Cook Islands 95% · City – Gold Coast 96% |
| Canadian traveller preferences
· Country – Portugal 96% · City – Lisbon 95% |
UK traveller preferences
· Country – Australia 95% · City – Cape Town 98% |
*Results are based on global Flight Centre customer survey responses from FY24 spanning Flight Centre’s five markets; Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, and the UK. Total sample size is >170k, destination must have >=500 responses to be listed.