After two years of pandemic lockdowns, alfresco dining is more popular than ever as families flock outdoors for picnics this summer.
Google searches for “picnic areas near me” spiked by more than 5000 per cent in the last 30 days while searches for “picnic places near me” also jumped 170 per cent, new data shows.
In response, food box delivery service EveryPlate compiled a list of Australia’s Most Popular Picnic Locations and an iconic park in Sydney was named number one.
With 189-hectares of open space, Centennial Park in the Eastern Suburbs is said to be Australia’s most popular picnic area, followed by Burleigh Beach on the Gold Coast and Glenelg Beach in Adelaide.
Other locations which made the cut include Woolamai Surf Beach in Victoria’s Phillip Island, The Gibraltar Falls in Canberra and Araluen Botanic Park in Perth.
Each location was ranked based on the analysis of tagged locations on Instagram.
The growing interest around picnics comes as experts say demand for urban recreation spaces has increased since COVID-19.
The Urban Development Institute of Australia national president Maxwell Shifman said factors like the pandemic, population growth and an increase in apartment dwellings had boosted demand for nature spaces.
“The importance of having these things really close is very high and it’s no surprise that people are looking for those sorts of facilities closer to where they want to live,” Mr Shifman said.
“People tend to stay closer to home for more of the time, so instead of commuting long distance every day they might commute fewer days per week, so they’re using recreational facilities particularly that are closer to home more of the time.”
From 2001 and 2021, the number of detached houses increased by 26 per cent, while the number of apartments grew 43 per cent and the number of semi-detached grew 85 per cent, according to REA Group Ltd.
Proptrack economist Angus Moore said more people prefer to live closer to urban recreation spaces, particularly since the pandemic.
“That’s a trend we’ve seen across the pandemic in particular, was increasing value put on living close to things like beaches, national parks, etc,” Mr Moore said.
“We saw prices for homes in those areas grow pretty quickly as people put increasing value on those, but they have always been sought after just even more so in the past few years.”
Australia’s Most Popular Picnic Locations
1. Centennial Park, Sydney
2. Burleigh Beach, Queensland
3. Glenelg Beach, Adelaide
4. Araluen Botanic Park, Perth
5. Observatory Hill Park, Millers Point, Sydney, NSW
6. Wendy Whiteley’s Secret Garden, Sydney, NSW
7. Shelly Beach, Manly, Sydney, NSW
8. Squeaky Beach, Victoria
9. Himeji Garden, Adelaide
10. Corin Forest, Canberra
© AAP 2023
