Australians took more than 1.2 million short-term overseas trips in July, an increase of more than 290,000 compared to June, according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Indonesia remained the most popular destination, attracting 176,330 trips, while New Zealand was second with 125,790. The July result for New Zealand was also higher than the 123,510 trips recorded during the same month last year.
Although Indonesia has led the outbound market in recent years, particularly Bali, New Zealand has consistently ranked as a strong competitor. The country is expected to benefit from Qantas’ planned increase in capacity and has also stepped-up promotion efforts, including a recent delegation to Australia to highlight North Island attractions.
The United States recorded 70,570 trips by Australians in July, up from 54,240 in June, but still well below pre-pandemic levels. In July 2019, nearly 105,000 Australians travelled to the US.
In the other direction, visitor numbers to Australia from China have nearly doubled in one month.
Having remained largely stagnant for some time following the reopening of Australia’s borders post-pandemic, data for Jul showed the China market nearly reclaim its once-held top spot as a source market. The data showed 112,900 visitors from China arrived in Australia through Jul, whereas only 60,200 were recorded in Jun.
Numbers have hovered around this lower level in the months prior, with May seeing 67,350 visitors and Apr recording 73,770.
China nearly eclipsed New Zealand as Australia’s top source market, with the Kiwis barely holding onto the lead with 122,910 crossing the Tasman and making up 17% of all arrivals.
Overall, a total of 743,210 trips to Australia by foreign passport holders were recorded, up 12.8% compared to Jul last year, but still 6% down on pre-pandemic numbers from Jul 2019. The UK was a distant third, with only 56,460 Brits making the trek.
In terms of target destination, Qld has again surpassed Vic into second place, welcoming 192,900 in Jul compared to 178,600 for Vic.
The Sunshine State also proved the key drawcard for New Zealanders, with the state welcoming 53,380 Kiwis compared to NSW with 34,290 and 24,390 opting for Victoria.
According to the data, most states and territories continue to surpass, or are close to, their pre-pandemic arrival numbers, however Vic continues to lag. The state is nearly 12% down on its 2019 numbers, the poorest performing state in Australia.
Shadow Tourism Minister Sam Groth slammed the result, slamming the Allen government for slashing Visit Victoria’s annual budget by as much as 81%.
