If you’ve been waiting to take that once-in-a-lifetime trip down under, now’s your chance, with tumbling air fares and heavily discounted holiday deals combining to make a fortnight in Australia cheaper than some all-inclusive breaks in Turkey.

The biggest bargains are on offer from Qantas Holidays (020 8222 9102, qantasholidays.co.uk ), as the tour-operating arm of the flag carrier slashes prices to fill seats. An 11-day package, including international and internal flights, five nights in Sydney and five in Cairns, now costs just £899pp — an off-season fortnight in the three-star Olu Deniz resort, on Turkey’s Aegean coast, booked through Thomas Cook, costs £5 more.

Air fares to Australia have been falling for weeks, with British Airways, Singapore and Cathay all offering returns to Perth for about £550. This week, Malaysia Airlines went even lower, offering returns to Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney for just £499, with one-way business-class upgrades for £999.

“April, May and June are low season down under, so prices tend to be lower at this time of year, but these fares are unprecedented,” said Andrew Appleby, of Trailfinders. “The other airlines will probably have to follow suit.”

Some may even go further. Rumours that the Australian government is considering offering free flights to boost the country’s ailing tourism economy were fanned when the Brisbane-based no-frills carrier

Virgin Blue said that it was willing to support the scheme.

Virgin Blue’s chief executive, Brett Godfrey, said offering free flights to travellers willing to spend more than £2,500 on goods and services in Australia could be this generation’s answer to the “ten-pound Pom” fares offered after the second world war to encourage British citizens to migrate to Australia. “You have to do something out of the ordinary to get people’s attention,” he said.

The Australians aren’t the only ones vying for our attention. The Sri Lankan tourist board, which is struggling to improve the country’s image, has launched an extraordinary two-for-one offer on package deals between now and October 31.

The premise is simple: you book a package deal for one using Sri Lankan Airways or Qatar Airways with any of 40 UK tour operators — and another person goes free. Prices start at £799 for two. See srilanka.travel/2for1 .

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