Traveller names 10 most popular destinations according to readers

This week marks the second anniversary of the launch of Traveller.com.au and the past two years has seen Australia's leading online travel publishing site go from strength to strength.

But what are Traveller's readers really interested in? We did some analysis to find out which destinations were our most popular with readers over the past two years and the answers might surprise you.

Based on the destinations most searched for on the site, the No.1 place Traveller readers were seeking information and inspiration for was Japan. The Land of the Rising Sun has become increasingly popular with Australians in recent years, as we seek to experience new Asian destinations beyond the traditional hotspots in south-east Asia.

Which is not to say that south-east Asia was not popular too. The No.2 destination was the traditional Australian favourite of Bali. And despite some bad publicity in recent years over several incidents involving Australians (including calls for a boycott of the destination after the execution of two of the Bali Nine drug smugglers), we have continued to flock to the Indonesian island in droves.

See also: Countries with the best reputations revealed

Further from home, New York came in at No.3. The Big Apple has always drawn plenty of Australians, with increasing numbers of Aussies choosing to relocate there. Despite our dollar losing almost 20 per cent of its value against the US over the past two years, Australians remain keen to visit the US and New York is the first city of choice.

Perennial stopover favourite Singapore came in at No.4, and while Qantas may have now have bypassed the city on its "Kangaroo Route" to Europe in favour of Dubai, it's still a popular spot for stopovers for Australians travelling with other carriers to Europe and elsewhere.

Rounding out the top five is Hawaii. Its proximity to Australia and relatively cheap flights have seen massive growth to the destination, with 187,952 Aussies visiting in the last 12 months to July. Australians are now constitute the third largest number of international visitors to the islands, behind Japan and Canada.

But these five places represent just a tiny part of the places you can explore via Traveller.com.au. Visit the site and you'll find information about more than 600 destinations around the world, including fact sheets with information like weather, currency and what type of power adapter to bring.