Australia Resident Overseas Travel Hits Record 12.71 Million in 2025/26 Financial Year
Australia’s resident overseas travel reached a record 12.71 million trips during the 2025/26 financial year, marking a 3.7% increase from the previous year’s 12.26 million, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Travel to Japan nearly doubled compared to pre-pandemic figures, establishing the country as the third-most popular destination for Australian travelers.
Total overseas travel by Australian residents exceeded pre-pandemic 2018/19 levels by 13.2%. Indonesia led all international destinations with 1,777,270 Australian visitors, followed by New Zealand with 1,489,460 visitors, and Japan with 992,550 visitors. Travel to Japan grew 9.0% year-on-year and surged 105.2% compared to the 2018/19 period, approaching the one-million milestone.
Inbound Visitor Numbers Rebound to 9.1 Million as Chinese Market Grows
Short-term visitor arrivals to Australia totaled 9,011,120 during the 2025/26 financial year, an increase of about 700,000 from the 8,402,400 recorded in the previous year. Tourism Research Australia (TRA) figures show this volume reaches 97.4% of the pre-pandemic peak of 9,343,990 set in 2018/19. Monthly arrival patterns varied, with September, November, and February setting individual monthly records, while the April-to-June quarter dipped below the corresponding 2018/19 months.
New Zealand remained Australia’s largest inbound market with 1,422,790 arrivals, representing 15.6% of the total. China followed with 1,127,110 arrivals, showing an 18.2% increase from the prior year. The United States and the United Kingdom contributed 755,500 and 751,420 visitors respectively. Among the top ten inbound markets, India was the only country to record a decline, while markets such as Hong Kong grew 14.5% and Japan increased 12.7%.
Visitor arrivals from Japan reached 447,590, placing it sixth among inbound markets just behind Singapore. This figure represents 92.4% of the 484,300 Japanese visitors recorded in 2018/19. TRA data indicates that Japanese visitors generated 1.57 billion Australian dollars in domestic spending, a 10.0% increase that positions Japan as a core economic contributor among inbound source nations.
Total Visitor Spending Reaches 40.47 Billion Australian Dollars Led by Chinese Travelers
China generated the highest spending at 11.75 billion Australian dollars, a 22.7% increase that accounts for roughly 29% of all visitor expenditures. The United Kingdom followed with 2.95 billion Australian dollars, the United States recorded 2.47 billion Australian dollars, New Zealand contributed 2.33 billion Australian dollars, and India reached 1.80 billion Australian dollars. While New Zealand supplied the highest number of individual visitors, China generated the largest overall financial return.
By travel purpose, education-related spending accounted for approximately 15.1 billion Australian dollars, while holiday travel contributed about 13.4 billion Australian dollars. Despite the annual growth, spending in the April-to-June 2026 quarter dropped 6% compared to the same period a year earlier, driven by declines in expenditures from travelers visiting friends and relatives and those arriving for education purposes.
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