Spotlight on Launceston as a travel destination in 2025
Launceston in northern Tasmania has been recommended to the world. Photo: Getty
Lonely Planet unveiled its top destinations to visit next year, with several Australian gems included among the recommendations.
The full lists are available in the new book released this week, Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2025, but Lonely Planet released a sneak peak with top 10 lists for best cities, countries and regions to visit next year.
While Australia failed to make the city and country lists, Tasmania’s Launceston and Tamar Valley ranked No. 4 in the top 10 regions.
Lonely Planet senior director Chris Zeiher told TND the process to decide on the top 10 lists included hundreds of nominations cast worldwide from the company’s staff, partners and contributors being narrowed down by a diverse panel of industry experts.
He was particularly chuffed to see the “under-appreciated” Tasmanian entry in the Best in Travel 2023 region list, as it was also one of his nominations.
Although not a massive tourist draw like Sydney or Melbourne, Launceston and the Tamar Valley have quietly built up a reputation as a destination for lovers of food, wine and outdoor activities.
In 2021, Launceston was designated a UNESCO City of Gastronomy, giving the city global recognition as a top food destination.
“There’s farmers’ markets, paddock to plate dining, cool climate, wineries, markets galore, cooking classes,” Zeiher said.
“So I think for anyone that wants to do any form of food tourism, this is a perfect area to go to.
“The wider Tamar region is full of outdoor activities, from kayaking the Tamar River to … zip-lining across these beautiful blue gums … there’s a ski field or mountain bike trails … That makes the destination really appealing to a variety of travellers.”
For the coming year, other notable Australian highlights by Lonely Planet included:
- Top 10 Best Beaches: No.1: Whitehaven Beach, QLD, and No. 2: Squeaky Beach, VIC.
- Top 10 Places to Relax: No.1: The Indian Pacific Railway Journey
- Top 10 Avian Species to Look Out For: No.1: Cassowary
- Top 10 Best Tree Tourism Destinations: No.2: Mountain Ash, Australia
- Top 10 Most Spectacular Drag Shows: No.7: Sydney, Australia
- Top 10 Best Venues: No.8: Melbourne Forum, VIC
- Top 10 Best Markets: No.8: Farm Gate Market, Hobart
- Top 10 Best Food Experiences: No.10: Lamingtons, Australia
- Top 10 Most Under-rated National Parks: No.10: Great Sandy National Park, QLD
Zeiher said a mention in Lonely Planet’s book could have a big impact on travel trends, thanks to its global reach and multiple translations.
“It’s really encouraging travellers to consider not just visiting the main cities … and actually getting out into our regions,” he said.
“Our regions are so brimming full of cool things to do that I love that we’re able to highlight these places and get people to consider putting them on their list when they’re building their itinerary.”
Many inclusions on the Lonely Planet lists were not typical tourist hotspots; for example, Cameroon was selected as the best country to travel to in 2025, while French city Toulouse beat out Paris for the best city.
These were deliberate choices to shine a spotlight on less-visited, but no less worthy, locations while also discouraging overtourism.
“I think if we do the list of the most popular places to go every year, it’d be really boring, because it’d be Paris, London; just same, same, same,” Zeiher said.
“Whereas, looking forward, it makes our list really very different and very interesting. In terms of the countries, you’ve got places like Cameroon, which [is] celebrating 65 years of independence, and … it’s really becoming quite a sought-after African destination.
“With Lithuania … [its capital city is] the European Green Capital for 2025, so there’s a real reason to go there.”