With the holiday season drawing to an end, the Edentify team is already thinking about our next holiday. Looking for inspiration, we have checked in with our Caféstudy community and asked them to describe their ideal holiday destinations, if cost was no issue. This is one of the most popular and longest running topics on the Café Chat forum, with over 800 responses going back several years, and provides insight into Australians' dream holidays.

When we think dream holidays, we often think of the obvious: the beaches of the South Pacific; the history of Europe; or an African safari. However our Caféstudy community have discussed a huge variety of destinations, revealing a depth and breadth of interests and motivations.

“Without a doubt, Japan! Beautiful rural scenery with lush meadows, fertile farmland, humble mountains. Kind, gentle people with rich culture and customs passed through their ancestral generations.”

“I would definitely go to Lhasa, Tibet - the sacred place of god because it's my home town I haven't seen in 25 years and still yearning to get a glimpse of it.”

“New York City at Xmas. I think it would be an amazing experience.”

“I would tour Australia and see everything I could, before going anywhere else in the world. We have a beautiful country with marvellous scenery and most Australians do not seem to appreciate that.”

Despite this variety, when you look at the numbers, five holiday destinations stand out from the rest. The United States and United Kingdom top the list of places people would most like to visit, followed by our very own Australia, with Europe and Canada also coming out top of people's wish lists. The numbers wanting to visit these five destinations are significantly higher than nearly all other destinations mentioned.

So what is it about these places that make them stand out as ideal holiday destinations?

With cost removed from the equation, two interesting points emerge. Most obviously, potential holidaymakers are looking for somewhere different; to get away from their everyday life and see and experience new things. The fact that these locations have come out on top is likely to be reflective of the size and breadth of choice available there. But more interestingly, despite the fact that people are looking to explore new places and experience new things, there is a need to feel a personal connection with a place.

People are often restricted by budget when planning a holiday, which automatically limits choice. Once cost is removed from the equation, a personal connection replaces it as a way to justify their choice. This connection could be because of family history, a recommendation, a desire to see, for example, a culture or piece of history that has meant something to them during their lives, or even just a good feeling about a place. So at the same time as wanting to experience variety, they also need the familiar.

"I would travel to Florida to see a friend of mine from 25 years ago, and then travel to the UK to meet up with old workmates from 40 years ago"

"I would definitely take my family to Disneyland in America. I have always wanted to go there."

"The Cinque Terre region of Italy. I am from England but met my Aussie husband in Italy and we have only been back once in 40 years, now that we live in Australia."

"I would love to go to Dubai and see the man-made islands and Burj Khalifa. Seeing how they made them on TV looks amazing."

For companies in the travel industry, understanding what connects people to places on a personal level and appealing to consumers in this way could help them to better stand out in what is a highly competitive market.