Travel is back with a bang ... and it's about to get even better: UN Travel

Travel is back in a big way, with about 1.1 billion people around the world exploring international destinations in the first nine months of 2024, according to the latest World Tourism Barometer by UN Tourism.

That figure is equal to 98 per cent of pre-pandemic numbers. In fact, according to UN Travel - a specialised agency of the United Nations - the global travel industry is set for a full recovery by the end of December.

Of the 111 destinations surveyed, 60 surpassed their 2019 arrival numbers, with Qatar (where tourist numbers were up by 141 per cent in the first nine months of this year, compared with 2019) at the top. Other tourism winners include: Albania (up 77 per cent), Saudi Arabia (61 per cent), Curacao (48 per cent) and Tanzania (43 per cent).

In terms of earnings, Serbia is at the top, with 99 per cent increase on receipts compared to 2019. Other big earners include: Pakistan (64 per cent), Romania (61 per cent), Japan (59 per cent), Portugal (51 per cent), Nicaragua and Tanzania (both 50 per cent), Turkiye (41 per cent) and France (27 per cent).

Travel is showing no signs of slowing down in the year ahead, with a number of airlines adding new routes or increasing their services on existing ones. Leading the charge is Virgin Australia, which will launch daily flights from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth to Doha from mid 2025.

Its partner airline, Qatar Airways, has an update, too: the airline will resume flights between Doha and Canberra (via Melbourne) - for the first time since the pandemic - from December 2025. In more good news, Emirates will be introducing a third nonstop service from Melbourne to Dubai from March 30, while LATAM has increased its direct flights from Melbourne to Santiago from three to four times a week. Now all you have to decide is: which direction from Australia will you be flying in - left or right!

If you're heading to Melbourne over summer, don't forget to visit level one of 167 Flinders Lane in the CBD, where a former clothing store has been turned into an art gallery with no name - and no website.

Inside, you'll find The Outsiders Melbourne exhibition (until May 25), with 100-plus works by street artists such as Banksy, Rone and Adnate. Look out for pieces such as Banksy's Firewall, which is being displayed for the first time in Australia; Adnate's Echoes of a Teenage Superstar, a finalist in the 2023 Archibald Prize; and a never-before-seen canvas by Rone, titled Badlands.

There's never a bad time to visit tropical Queensland, but 2025 is shaping up to be a big year for the Sunshine State, thanks to a spate of new openings, starting with the launch of Mondrian hotel at Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast in autumn. It's the Mondrian brand's debut Down Under and we can't wait to check out the stylish interiors that have made this hospitality chain popular all over the world. Also earmark the Sundays boutique hotel, which is set to open on Hamilton Island in the heart of the Whitsundays in April, and the Avani Mooloolaba Beach Hotel, which will most likely open in spring on the Sunshine Coast. mondrianhotels.com; hamiltonisland.com.au; avanihotels.com