Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia

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Statistics on international travel arriving in and departing from Australia.

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Reference period
March 2024
Released
14/05/2024
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    Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia, April 2024
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    Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia, May 2024
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    Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia, June 2024
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Key statistics

In March 2024:

  • Short-term visitor arrivals: 761,050 – an increase of 24.1% on one year earlier 
  • Short-term resident returns: 767,110 – an increase of 20.7% on one year earlier
  • Total arrivals: 1,614,830 – an increase of 20.1% on one year earlier
  • Total departures: 1,709,930 – an increase of 29.1% on one year earlier

These statistics report on the number of international border crossings rather than the number of people. Most data in this release are rounded to the nearest 10. As a result, sums of components may not add exactly to totals.

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Overseas Migration Statistics

This release presents statistics on all overseas arrivals and departures, which is not the same as overseas migration statistics.

If you are looking for ABS statistics on overseas migration, please refer to:

Arrivals and departures

  1. Provisional data for the most recent month has not had the full quality assurance methods applied as is done for the earlier months. Provisional data will be revised in the next issue of this publication.
  1. Provisional data for the most recent month has not had the full quality assurance methods applied as is done for the earlier months. Provisional data will be revised in the next issue of this publication.
  1. Provisional data for the most recent month has not had the full quality assurance methods applied as is done for the earlier months. Provisional estimates will be revised in the next issue of this publication.
1.4 Arrivals and departures by category of travel - annual change(a)
Category of travelMar 2019
(no.)		Mar 2022
(no.)		Mar 2023
(no.)		Mar 2024
(no.)		Mar 2023 to
Mar 2024 change (%)
Total arrivals1,660,140374,6301,344,5801,614,83020.1
    Permanent arrivals(b)9,2807,96014,58016,12010.5
    Australian resident returns(c) 
        long-term10,98019,15014,09013,230-6.1
        short-term753,510146,340635,730767,11020.7
    Overseas visitor arrivals(d) 
        long-term50,03030,93066,84057,320-14.2
        short-term836,350170,250613,340761,05024.1
Total departures1,684,320335,2401,324,3601,709,93029.1
    Australian resident departures(c) 
        long-term25,06017,57025,94025,010-3.6
        short-term818,410211,490724,430934,19029.0
    Overseas visitor departures(d) 
        long-term18,61027,92024,99027,4109.7
        short-term822,24078,270549,010723,32031.8
  1. Category of travel data is not available from provisional estimates.
  2. Permanent arrivals (settlers) comprise: travellers who hold permanent visas, New Zealand citizens who indicate on their passenger card an intention to migrate permanently, and those who are otherwise identified as eligible to settle.
  3. Australian resident includes Australian citizens, permanent visa holders residing in Australia, and any New Zealand citizens who can be identified as a resident.
  4. An overseas visitor is any traveller arriving to, or departing from, Australia who is not an Australian resident.

Note: Long-term are travellers who have been away or in Australia for 12 months or more. Short-term are travellers who have been away or in Australia for less than 12 months.

Visitor arrivals - short-term

Compares international visitor arrivals each month by source country and change at the state and territory level. Analysis in this section is undertaken on short-term trips (less than 1 year).

For visitor arrivals to Australia:

  • A total of 761,050 short-term trips were recorded, an increase of 147,710 compared with the corresponding month of the previous year.
  • The number of trips for March 2024 was 9.0% lower than the pre-COVID level in March 2019.
  • New Zealand was the largest source country, accounting for 15% of all visitor arrivals.

Countries where visitors came from

The three leading source countries where visitors came from were:

  • New Zealand (115,270 trips)
  • The USA (84,770)
  • The UK (78,820).

Details

State or territory of stay

All travellers are asked their intended address in Australia upon arrival. For March 2024, the highest number of visitor arrivals for short-term trips was observed for New South Wales (282,310), whilst the Northern Territory recorded the fewest (3,580).

2.3 Short-term visitor arrivals, state or territory of stay - March 2024

This map presents the number of short-term visitor arrivals in Australia in March 2024, by their state of intended stay.

- New South Wales (282,310)
- Victoria (199,120)
- Queensland (159,500)
- South Australia (22,290)
- Western Australia (76,560)
- Tasmania (9,210)
- Northern Territory (3,580)
- Australian Capital Territory (8,390).

2.4 Short-term visitor arrivals, state or territory of stay
State or territory of stayMar 2019 (no.)Mar 2022 (no.)Mar 2023 (no.)Mar 2024 (no.)Mar 2023 to Mar 2024 change (%)
NSW314,01062,610234,000282,31020.6
Vic.234,43047,660159,250199,12025.0
Qld166,42030,990111,920159,50042.5
SA24,7006,72023,07022,290-3.4
WA74,81016,81065,30076,56017.2
Tas.8,7301,7408,2609,21011.5
NT4,9206904,0003,580-10.5
ACT8,2802,9907,4408,39012.8
Australia(a)836,350170,250613,340761,05024.1
  1. Includes Other Territories.

Visitor arrivals - state and territory

Compares international visitor arrivals each month by source country for each state and territory. Analyses in this section are undertaken on short-term trips (less than 1 year) unless otherwise stated.

New South Wales

Victoria

Queensland

South Australia

Western Australia

Tasmania

Northern Territory

Australian Capital Territory

Visitor arrivals - short-term - calendar year 2023

Compares annual international travel arrivals over time by source country, state and territory, age and sex, main reason for journey and median duration of trip. All analysis in this section is done on short-term trips (less than 1 year).

For the most recent analysis by financial year, see the June 2023 issue of Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia.

For visitors arriving in Australia in 2023:

  • There were 7,187,430 visitor arrivals, nearly double the previous year
  • New Zealand was the largest source country, accounting for 18% of visitors
  • The most popular reason for travel was 'holiday' (40%)
  • The median duration of stay in Australia was 14 days, down from 18 days in 2022.

Annual visitor arrivals

Countries where visitors came from

State or territory of stay

Age and sex

Main reason for journey

Duration of stay

Arrivals - international students

Compares international student arrivals each month by visa type.

  • In March 2024 there were 44,580 international student arrivals to Australia, a decrease of 9,060 students compared with the corresponding month of the previous year.
  • The number of student arrivals in March 2024 was 38.2% lower than the pre-COVID levels in March 2019.
  1. International student visa holders whether it be for a short-term (less than 1 year) or long-term (1 year or more) duration. This is not the same as when a traveller self reports 'education' as their main reason for journey.
  2. English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students.

Resident returns - short-term

Compares international resident returns each month by destination country and change at the state and territory level. Analysis in this section is undertaken on short-term trips (less than 1 year).

For residents returning from overseas:

  • A total of 767,110 short-term trips were recorded, an increase of 131,380 compared with the corresponding month of the previous year.
  • The number of trips for March 2024 was 1.8% higher than the pre-COVID level in March 2019.
  • New Zealand was the most popular destination country, accounting for 16% of all resident returns.

Destination countries

The three leading destination countries residents returned from were:

  • New Zealand (124,440 trips)
  • Indonesia (110,190)
  • Japan (62,590).

Details

State or territory of residence

All travellers are asked their intended address in Australia upon arrival. For March 2024, the highest number of resident returns from short-term trips was observed for New South Wales (248,670), whilst the Northern Territory recorded the fewest (5,590).

13.3 Short-term resident returns, state or territory of residence - March 2024

This map presents the number of short-term resident returns in Australia in March 2024, by their state of intended residence.

- New South Wales (248,670)
- Victoria (202,810)
- Queensland (159,410)
- South Australia (30,260)
- Western Australia (100,480)
- Tasmania (7,210)
- Northern Territory (5,590)
- Australian Capital Territory (12,560).

13.4 Short-term resident returns, state or territory of residence
State or territory of residenceMar 2019 (no.)Mar 2022 (no.)Mar 2023 (no.)Mar 2024 (no.)Mar 2023 to Mar 2024 change (%)
NSW251,08059,780208,730248,67019.1
Vic.199,78046,890174,330202,81016.3
Qld147,06021,630116,840159,41036.4
SA33,8405,13029,32030,2603.2
WA93,4808,32084,910100,48018.3
Tas.8,0708505,4707,21031.8
NT6,4906004,1605,59034.4
ACT13,6303,09011,91012,5605.4
Australia(a)753,510146,340635,730767,11020.7
  1. Includes Other Territories.

Resident returns - short-term - calendar year 2023

Compares annual international travel arrivals over time by source country, state and territory, age and sex, main reason for journey and median duration of trip. All analysis in this section is done on short-term trips (less than 1 year).

For the most recent analysis by financial year, see the June 2023 issue of Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia.

For Australian residents returning to Australia in 2023:

  • There were 9,975,230 resident returns from overseas, an increase of over 4.7 million on the previous year
  • Indonesia was the leading destination country for Australians travelling overseas, accounting for 1,368,050 trips
  • The most popular reason for travel was 'holiday' (57%)
  • The median trip duration was 15 days.

Annual resident returns

Destination countries

State or territory of residence

Age and sex

Main reason for journey

Duration of stay

Recent changes

All references to 'Gaza Strip and West Bank' have been updated to 'Occupied Palestinian Territories'

From 14/5/2024 all references to 'Gaza Strip and West Bank' have been updated to 'Occupied Palestinian Territories' to align with an update to the Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC). 

Data downloads

Notes

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Time series spreadsheets

Data files

Data Explorer datasets

Two Overseas Arrivals and Departures datasets are available in Data Explorer.

1. Visitor arrivals and resident returns, Selected Countries of Residence/Destinations

2. Visitor arrivals and resident returns, Intended Length of Stay and Main Reason for Journey

Caution: Data in Data Explorer is currently released after the 11:30am release on the ABS website. Please check the reference period when using Data Explorer.

For information on Data Explorer and how it works, see the Data Explorer user guide.

Data notes

This release contains overseas movement data which should not be interpreted as 'persons'. See the Scope section, paragraph 1 in the Methodology for more detail.

The statistics in this release have been rounded. See the Confidentiality section in the Methodology for more detail.

Enquiries

For enquiries about these and related statistics, contact the Customer Assistance Service via the ABS website Contact Us page. The ABS Privacy Policy outlines how the ABS will handle any personal information that you provide to the ABS.

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 3401.0.

Overseas Migration Statistics

This release presents statistics on all overseas arrivals and departures, which is not the same as overseas migration statistics.

If you are looking for ABS statistics on overseas migration, please refer to:

Methodology

Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia methodology, March 2024