Forget drinking Bintang in Bali.
Research undertaken by Contiki, has found young travellers aspire to much more worldly experiences, with bathing in Iceland’s Blue Lagoon hot springs topping their bucket list.
The poll of nearly 5000 18 to 35-year-olds worldwide produced the “No Regrets’ list” of the ten most desirable travel experiences.
Only one Australian destination made the top ten, with chilling on the beach at Byron Bay ranked the fourth travel essential for the age group.
A total of 42 per cent nominated bathing in the Blue Lagoon making it number one, closely followed by seeing the Great Pyramids of Giza and walking the Great Wall of China — both on 41 per cent.
Forty per cent nominated Byron Bay thanks to its golden expanses of sand, relaxed happy vibe and great food options.
Rounding out the top five with 39 per cent of the vote, was learning how to make pizza in Italy from kneading out the dough to creating a mouth-watering tomato sauce topping.
Another on the list, was road tripping down Route 66 in the United States. Stretching almost 4000-kilometres, the historic route travels from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica in California.
At number seven, was floating on a gondola through Venice, closely followed by another romantic essential — sharing a kiss on the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
More than a third of Gen Y and Gen Z travellers wanted to watch sea turtles lay eggs in Costa Rica — sorry Mon Repos in Bundaberg — or go on a picnic in the French countryside.
Other than Byron Bay, other Australian travel experiences to rate a mention, were snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef, cuddling a koala in Queensland, cooking a steak on the barbecue in Sydney and sailing through the Whitsunday Islands.
“We are really excited to be sharing insights on the hottest travel experiences for millennials from all around the world,” said Contiki Australia managing director Katrina Barry.
“However, what’s also interesting are the trends about young Australians and also about Australia as a destination — 21 per cent of international young travellers are planning to travel to Australia next year and 40 per cent have put a visit to the beach of Byron Bay on their bucket list.”
She said the main motivator to travel for 18 to 35-year-olds was to learn about other cultures.
“Our research shows that the youngest Australian travellers choose cultural experiences over partying in Vegas and Ibiza, going to the Oktoberfest and skydiving in New Zealand,” Ms Barry said.
