The number of Australians heading overseas in January 2024 hit pre-2019 levels for the first time since travel restrictions were lifted as Aussie international travel continues its rebound.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data showed the number of residents returning from short-term trips of 12 months or less in 2023-24 was 32 per cent higher than the previous year, reaching 98 per cent of 2019 levels.
Since January, Aussie international travel numbers have reached 100 per cent of 2019 volume or above every month except May 2024, which recorded 93.3 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
Here’s the international holiday destinations driving interest among Aussies – and the good news is there’s plenty of air capacity and competition for both travellers and travel agents to take advantage.
Top 5 destinations for international travel
The top five countries for Aussie international travel in 2023-24 were Indonesia with 1.5 million trips recorded followed by New Zealand, USA, Japan and the UK.
Holidays were the main reason for travel to Indonesia in 2023-24, making up 87.1 per cent of travel. Trips to Indonesia easily outpaced the increase in travel to New Zealand by around four to one, pointing to the ongoing popularity of Bali among Aussies.
Increased airlift from Australia to Bali is another factor influencing the strong rebound to Indonesia.
Recent immigration data shows Australia is the number-one tourism market for Bali, making up 22 per cent of all arrivals between January-June 2024, while Aussies are also in the top three source countries for NZ tourism.
Both Indonesia and New Zealand recorded a sharp rise with NZ now levelling off and Indonesia continuing to climb, reaching 1.53 million short-term trips in June 2024.
The US was the only country in the top five travel destinations where numbers were lower than 10 years ago, with a total of 714,300 trips, down from 970,230 trips in 2013-14.
In June 2024, around 710,000 trips to the USA were noted, while Aussie international travel to the UK reached 620,000.
VisitBritain figures showed a record high of 1.2 million Aussies visited the UK in 2023, up 10 per cent on 2019 levels.
While the US and UK volume has plateaued, Japan is still on an upward trajectory, hitting 700,000 trips from Australia in June 2024.
There has been notable travel demand for Japan among Aussies with Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) data showing Australian traveller numbers to Japan rose by 46.3 per cent between January and March 2024 alone.
Australia is now the seventh-largest tourism source market for Japan and Aussie international travel to the East Asia nation shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
