International travel falls 5 per cent, led by big UK and US declines 

The skies are still busy, just not quite as busy. After growing by nearly five per cent year-on-year in April, international travel took a nosedive in May, new government data reveals.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) monthly report for international travel in May shows there were 922,460 short-term resident returns (defined as trips under a year) for the month, a decrease of 4.9 per cent on May 2025 – equal to 47,600 fewer trips. 

The decrease is even more stark when comparing recent months with pre-COVID levels. While the number of trips in April this year was nearly 20 per cent higher than April 2019, May’s total is only 6.5 per cent higher than May 2019. 

The positive news is that May departures were slightly up on one year earlier, which suggests June travel (as measured by returns) could be at least level, year-over-year. 

Vietnam still soaring

Looking at individual destinations, Vietnam saw the biggest rise in Australian trips, up 22 per cent to 48,960. New Zealand also experienced significant growth, up 14 per cent to 94,680 trips. 

Elsewhere, it was relatively flat, or there were falls. 

Our most visited country, Indonesia (mostly due to Bali), and South Pacific favourite Fiji both saw modest 2.8 per cent yearly gains, while China (which saw a whopping 34 per cent growth in April) witnessed a slight drop-off in Aussie visitation in May. 

Elsewhere in Asia, perennially popular Thailand saw a 7.7 per cent drop in Australian arrivals, while Japan experienced a 6 per cent decline, indicating its ceiling may have been reached following another relatively flat month in April. 

Biggest drops

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom (23%) and United States (22%) saw the largest falls, with Britain’s decrease likely linked to air travel disruption in the Middle East due to the US-Iran conflict.

Overall, our three most visited countries were Indonesia (149,080 arrivals), accounting for one in six (16.6%) trips, New Zealand (83,020) and Japan (82,920).

The ACT and the Northern Territory both saw around 20 per cent declines in trips, while Tasmania was the outlier state or territory, with trips growing by nearly 30 per cent.

Inbound wrap

For short-term (inbound) visitor arrivals, a total of 609,040 trips were recorded, down 0.4 per cent from May 2025. However, the number of inbound trips was (worryingly for Aussie tourism operators) 8.9 per cent lower than the pre-COVID level in May 2019.

New Zealand was the largest source country, accounting for 18.2 per cent of all visitor arrivals. But Kiwi visitation also saw the second-biggest decline (-5.2%) after India, which experienced a massive 18.7 per cent drop-off.

Top 10 destination countries for international travel (May 2026)

Short-term visitor arrivals to Australia (May 2026)

KARRYON UNPACKS: One month doesn’t make a trend, but May shows international travel demand isn’t immune to global events. The sharp UK and US falls also underline how quickly traveller confidence can shift.