TORONTO--(Marketwire - September 13, 2010) - Cheapflights.ca's has released the third instalment of its Rising Stars series, which takes a look at travel to Asia and Oceania, two regions that rule the Pacific with their tropical beaches, historical cities and legendary geography.
After compiling search data from the first six months of 2009 and 2010, Cheapflights.ca, the online leader in finding and publishing travel deals, has published its 2010 Asia and Oceania Rising Stars Report. The list ranks the 75 most frequently searched destinations in Asia and Oceania at Cheapflights.ca according to their change in popularity over 2009.
Amman, the capital of Jordan, tops the list with a phenomenal percentage change between 2009 and 2010 of 603 per cent. Searches for flights to Bora Bora, the popular French Polynesian island, were up by 552 per cent while the neighbouring island of Tahiti also saw a jump of 160 per cent.
Additionally, out of the 75 rising stars in Asia and Oceania, twelve are in India and five are in China, showing that trade and tourism between Canada and those vast countries are growing year by year. Canada received Approved Destination Status from China in June (2010) and the VFR market (Visiting Friends and Relatives) is very healthy. And once again, the performance of the Canadian dollar over the past year has meant that many destinations have become more affordable to Canadian travellers.
Of the 75 most searched destinations, below are the top five destinations that saw an increase in popularity based on searches in 2010 compared to 2009 at Cheapflights.ca:
| Ranking | Destination | Percentage change over 2009 |
| 1 | Amman, Jordan | 603% |
| 2 | Bora Bora, French Polynesia | 552% |
| 3 | Kabul, Afghanistan | 254% |
| 4 | Colombo, Sri Lanka | 252% |
| 5 | Chennai, India | 198% |
At the other end of the scale, Cairns, Australia, saw the biggest drop with searches to this city in Far North Queensland down by 6 per cent. The cities below also saw the lowest increase in popularity from 2009 to 2010.
| Ranking | Destination | Percentage change over 2009 |
| 71 | Phnom Penh, Cambodia | 24% |
| 72 | Saint Petersburg, Russia | 23% |
| 73 | Busan, South Korea | 21% |
| 74 | Brisbane, Australia | 14% |
| 75 | Cairns, Australia | -6% |
To see Cheapflights.ca's complete ranking of 75 destinations in the 2010 Asia and Oceania's Rising Stars Report, visit http://www.cheapflights.ca/promos/asias-rising-stars/. For comparison, see how popular destinations in Asia and Oceania ranked with travellers from the US and the U.K with the 2010 Asia and Oceania Rising Stars Reports from sister sites Cheapflights.com and Cheapflights.co.uk.
Methodology
The 2010 Asia and Oceania Rising Stars Report was compiled by comparing the difference in search volume between 2009 and 2010 for the 75 most searched destinations Asia and Oceania.
This look at the rising and falling stars in Asia and Oceania is the third in a series of regional destination popularity indexes, which was launched with the 2010 North America's Rising Stars Report followed by the 2010 Europe's Rising Star Report.
About Cheapflights Media
The trusted partner in flights, Cheapflights Media is a global Internet media network that has been delivering great deals since 1996. Headquartered in London with offices in Boston and Toronto, Cheapflights Media serves advertisers and consumers through its vast portfolio of websites and services. Packed with travel guides, tips and the latest news and information, the Cheapflights sites are online shopping comparison engines that make it easy for consumers in local markets to research, compare and save on domestic and international trips. With brand-name deals on airline tickets from more than 250 partners and 600 airlines and a team of travel experts hand picking the best offerings, Cheapflights offers visitors a mix of deals they can't find anywhere else. zugu, the newest brand in the Cheapflights Media portfolio, is a powerful and simple travel search engine that makes it easy to compare and select the lowest available fares online. By organizing flight options by date, airline and time, zugu helps consumers find the best fares based on their travel terms. There are currently Cheapflights-branded sites for the U.K., U.S., Canada, Germany, Australia & New Zealand, France, Italy and Spain. zugu is available in the U.K., U.S. and Germany. For more information, visit www.cheapflights.ca.
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