Google Trends data from May to mid-September 2026 shows Italy remains the European destination Australians search for most, even as overall interest slips for a third straight year.
The first Airbus A350-1000ULR built for Qantas’ Project Sunrise, which made its maiden flight in Toulouse on 2 June 2026. The aircraft is designed for nonstop flights of up to 22 hours between Sydney and London or New York. Photo: Airbus
Between May and mid-September, Italy drew more travel-related Google searches from Australia than any other major European destination, according to Google Trends data. Across the period its average search interest was well ahead of the United Kingdom, Greece, France and Spain.
A winter peak
Searches for Italy travel rose through late autumn and peaked in June and July, during Australia’s winter. That period includes the July school holidays, and it lines up with the height of the European summer, when Italy fills social media feeds.
Interest eased in August and held steady into early September.
The busiest single day for Italy travel searches in the period was Sunday 7 June. Seven of the eight busiest days fell on a weekend, and the eighth, Monday 8 June, was the King’s Birthday public holiday in most states. It suggests many Australians plan their European escapes in their downtime rather than during the working week.
What Australians searched for
Beyond “Italy” itself, the most common related searches were practical. Australians looked up the time in Italy, Rome, flights to Italy, Florence, Venice, Milan and Italy tours, the kind of queries typical of trips that are moving from daydream to planning.
Interest relative to total search activity was highest in the Northern Territory and Victoria, closely followed by New South Wales. Queensland and South Australia came next. Western Australia ranked sixth of the eight states and territories, despite Perth being home to the only nonstop flight between Australia and continental Europe.
Rome leads, Venice second
Rome was by far the most searched Italian destination, with average interest more than double that of any other place tracked. Rome searches were strongest in early to mid-May and again in early July.
Venice came second. Its interest peaked in mid-July and again in mid-September. Sicily and Florence were almost level in third place. Sicily peaked in mid-July, while Florence held steady through the whole period.
The Amalfi Coast recorded very little interest as a search topic. Many travellers are likely to search for individual towns such as Positano or Amalfi instead, so this figure probably understates interest in the region.
Beyond the classics
Outside the big five, Lake Como stood out. Among a second group of destinations, it drew about two and a half times the search interest of the Cinque Terre and about six times that of Sardinia. Tuscany, Puglia and Sardinia followed, although Tuscany’s figure is likely held down by travellers searching for Florence instead.
Even so, Lake Como remains a niche next to the big cities. Its interest was about a third of Sicily’s and roughly a tenth of Rome’s.
The related searches show how Australians are stitching trips together. People searching for Venice also looked up “Rome to Venice”, “Venice to Dolomites” and Lake Como, while searches for the Colosseum rose by 40 to 50 per cent over the period.
Flight searches followed the same pattern. Australians consistently searched for “flights to Rome” far more often than for flights to Milan, Venice or Naples.
A direct line from Perth
Airlines are betting on that demand holding up. Qantas has almost doubled capacity on its seasonal Perth–Rome route for 2026, adding nearly 10,000 seats and more than 40 extra services. This year’s season runs from 3 May to 23 October, eight weeks longer than before, with four flights a week in the peak period from 27 June to 26 September.
More than 70,000 passengers have used the route since it launched in 2022. Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace has said customers love being able to “depart Perth in the evening and wake up in Rome”.
A third year of softer demand
Overall interest in Italy travel in 2026 was lower than in recent years. Average search interest from May to August was about 8 per cent below the same months of 2025, 16 per cent below 2024 and 24 per cent below 2023, the post-pandemic high point.
The seasonal pattern hasn’t changed, though. Every year since 2023, searches have peaked in June or July and then eased in August.
One exception came in February 2026, when Italy searches jumped. The spike coincided with the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
Japan pulls ahead
Italy’s lead is a European one. Across all overseas destinations, Japan drew about twice Italy’s travel search interest from Australia between May and mid-September. Italy still finished ahead of the United States, the United Kingdom and Greece.
The longer view explains the gap. Italy’s winter search interest in 2026 was about 9 per cent below its 2019 level and roughly back where it was in 2016. Over the same decade, Japan climbed well past its pre-pandemic peak, and in 2026 sat about 38 per cent above 2019.
What’s changing for travellers
Travellers heading to Italy also face some new rules. Venice charged its day-tripper access fee on 60 days between April and July 2026, up from 54 days in 2025. Visitors paid €5 if they booked at least four days ahead and €10 if they booked later, for entry between 8.30am and 4pm. Overnight hotel guests are exempt.
Bigger changes are coming across the continent. The European Union has said its ETIAS travel authorisation will start in the last quarter of 2026. Australians will need one to visit Italy and 29 other European countries. It will cost €20 and last three years or until the passport expires. For the first six months, no traveller will be refused entry just for not having one.
Searches are not bookings
Search interest measures curiosity, not tickets sold. Many people search repeatedly while comparing prices or simply daydreaming about a trip, so a fall in searches doesn’t necessarily mean fewer Australians will travel. Official travel figures give the fuller picture.
Those figures point the same way as the searches. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian residents returned from 49,650 short-term trips to Italy in July 2026, down 2.1 per cent on July 2025. Over the same month, total short-term trips abroad rose 3.8 per cent to more than 1.25 million. Italy was the ninth most popular destination, behind places such as Indonesia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
Even so, the data suggests Italy keeps its place at the top of Australian bucket lists. The pull is still strongest in the depths of the southern winter.
About the data
Figures are from Google Trends for Australia, filtered to the Travel category, and were collected on 17 September 2026. Trip numbers are from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Overseas Arrivals and Departures release for July 2026. Venice access fee details are from the City of Venice, and ETIAS details are from the European Union. Google Trends measures relative search interest on a 0–100 scale rather than absolute query volumes, so numbers can only be compared within the same chart. Destinations are measured as Google Trends topics, which group related searches together. Google Trends data is aggregated and anonymous.
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