AUSTRALIA’S travel industry continues to rebound, with the country recording 5.2 million resident returns for the full year of 2022, 17 times more than the year prior, according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The annual summary was part of the regular monthly release of ABS statistics for inbound and outbound travel, which also revealed that the number of outbound trips taken in March 2023 (635,730) was still 15.6% down on the pre-COVID level in March 2019.
New Zealand once again emerged on top as the favourite destination for Australian travellers, making up 17% of all resident returns with 107,970 trips. Indonesia and India proved popular as well, with 90,780 and 45,380 trips taken, respectively. Thailand, the US, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Fiji and the Philippines also ranked among the top 10 destinations.
Visitor arrivals continued to grow, however the March figures show that the 613,340 total still fell 26.7% short of the pre-pandemic March 2019 levels. Most of Australia’s international arrivals came from New Zealand, followed by the UK and then the US, showing a trend towards traditional western markets. This, however, may change in the coming months due to China’s recent reopening.
Click here to see the statistics for March 2023.
