Overseas arrivals and departures, Australia - 2025-26 financial year

Annual statistics on short-term international travel by Australian residents and overseas visitors to Australia.

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Released
14/08/2026
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Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia, June 2026
Release date and time
14/08/2026 11:30am AEST

Short-term visitor arrivals (STVA)

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 previous release, see the Annual analysis articles section of Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia.

For visitors arriving in Australia in 2025-26:

  • There were 9,101,120 visitor arrivals – an increase of 8.3% on one year earlier
  • New Zealand was the largest source country, accounting for 15.6% of visitors
  • The most popular reason for travel was ‘holiday’ (45.4%)
  • The median duration of stay in Australia was 12 days, the same as the previous two years.

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.

Annual visitor arrivals

There were 9,101,120 visitor arrivals in 2025-26. This is an increase of 8.3% on the previous year, when there were 8,402,400 visitor arrivals.

Visitor arrivals have increased in each of the 5 years since border restrictions associated with COVID-19 were removed in February 2022. While 2025-26 was the second highest year on record for visitor arrivals, it was still 2.6% lower than visitor arrivals in 2018-19. 

The individual months of 2025-26 initially showed levels comparable to 2018-19, including highest months on record for September, November and February, before recording lower levels relative to 2018-19 in the last three months of the financial year.

Visitor arrivals to Australia have generally been increasing over recent decades, with a continuous increase in the 10-year period ending 2019. However, due to the impact of COVID-19, a substantial decline was observed from February 2020 onwards. International borders were fully re-opened in February 2022, with an increase in visitor arrivals seen every financial year since then. There have been other historical events which have impacted the numbers of visitor arrivals to Australia, although not to the same extent as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Peaks were seen during the:

  • Brisbane Expo in 1988
  • Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Decreases were observed during the:

  • Asian financial crisis in 1998
  • September 11 attacks in the USA in 2001
  • Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003
  • Global Financial Crisis (GFC) in 2008
  • Global COVID-19 pandemic starting in 2020. 

Countries where visitors came from

The top 5 source countries for 2025-26 were New Zealand, China, the USA, the UK and Singapore.

In 2025-26:

  • Short-term visitor arrivals for all top 5 source countries were higher than the previous year.
  • New Zealand remained the largest source country for visitor arrivals with 1,422,790 visits.
  • Arrivals from China were the second highest with 1,127,110 visits.
  • ‘Holiday’ was the top reason for journey for visitors from New Zealand, China, the USA and Singapore, while visitors from the UK were more often ‘visiting friends/relatives’.

Ten years ago, in 2015-16, the top 5 source countries were similar - New Zealand, China, the UK, the USA and Singapore.

  1. Top 5 source countries based on year ending June 2026.
  2. Excludes SARs and Taiwan.

Visitor arrivals have increased since the removal of COVID-19 travel restrictions in February 2022, but the rates of recovery for visitor numbers from different countries have varied.

Five of the top 10 source countries in 2025-26 exceeded pre-COVID levels. South Korea had the largest relative increase (reaching 145.2% of 2018-19 arrivals), followed by India (117.1% of 2018-19 arrivals) and Indonesia (113.7% of 2018-19 arrivals). Of the top 10, China had the lowest number relative to pre-COVID, with 78.7% of 2018-19 arrivals.

  1. Top 10 source countries ordered by highest number of arrivals (from left to right), for the year ending June 2026.
  2. Excludes SARs and Taiwan.
1.7 Short-term visitor arrivals, Australia - top 10 source countries(a) - selected years
Country of residence2015-16 ('000)2018-19 ('000)2024-25 ('000)2025-26 ('000)
New Zealand1,325.241,407.241,391.141,422.79
China(b)1,145.681,432.89953.201,127.11
USA664.82811.98714.77755.50
UK703.68718.58669.39751.42
Singapore419.00464.85422.68448.31
Japan380.37484.30397.08447.59
India243.66372.04451.09435.57
Korea, South256.09280.71373.54407.60
Hong Kong234.94309.58220.62252.72
Indonesia163.21214.84226.65244.24
All countries7,853.529,343.998,402.409,101.12
  1. Top 10 source countries based on year ending June 2026.
  2. Excludes SARs and Taiwan.

STVA - state or territory of stay

All travellers are asked their intended address in Australia upon arrival. 

For 2025-26:

  • New South Wales had the highest share of total visitor arrivals (37.7%)
  • The Northern Territory recorded the lowest share of total visitor arrivals (0.7%).

1.8 Proportion of short-term visitor arrivals by state/territory of residence(a) - 2025-26 (%)

This map presents the proportion of short-term visitor arrivals in Australia in 2025-26, by their intended state or territory of stay.

  1. As a percentage of all short-term visitor arrivals.

Ten years ago, in 2015-16, the Northern Territory had a larger proportion of visitor arrivals (1.0%) than the Australian Capital Territory (0.9%) and Tasmania (0.7%). In 2025-26, the Australian Capital Territory (1.1%) and Tasmania (1.0%) both had larger proportions of visitor arrivals than the Northern Territory (0.7%).

All states and territories except the Northern Territory recorded an overall increase in international visitors in the years prior to 2020. While most states recorded steady annual growth in the years prior to 2020, the Northern Territory and South Australia experienced fluctuations in visitor numbers. All states and territories observed a considerable drop in visitor numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the removal of travel restrictions in February 2022, visitor arrivals have increased in all states and territories but have increased towards pre-COVID levels at different rates. Last year, Western Australia was the only state or territory to record a record number of visitor arrivals. This year, Western Australia, Tasmania and South Australia all recorded their highest visitor arrival levels on record. 

Western Australia has had the strongest recovery in visitor arrivals since the pandemic, recording movements at 113.4% of the 2018-19 level for 2025-26. Visitor arrivals to the Northern Territory were the lowest, with movements in 2025-26 reaching 85.7% of 2018-19 levels. Australian Capital Territory was the only state or territory to experience a decrease in visitor arrivals compared to one year ago.

The mix of source countries at the state and territory level was different to that at the national level. In 2025-26:

  • China was the largest source country for visitors to NSW, Vic. and ACT
  • New Zealand was the largest source country for visitors to Qld, SA and Tas.
  • Singapore was the largest source country for WA
  • The USA was the largest source country of visitors to the NT.

The top source country for each state or territory this year is the same as in 2024-25. Ten years earlier, in 2015-16, it was similar, with the only differences in top source countries being that the UK was the leading source country for visitors to WA, and the USA was the leading source country for visitors to the ACT.

STVA - age and sex

There were more visits to Australia by females than males in 2025-26 (4,779,250 females compared with 4,321,870 males). After a long history of more male than female visitors, female visits overtook male visits in 2014-15 (3,569,580 females compared to 3,569,190 males). Since then, short-term visitor arrivals of females have been greater than male visits each year, except for in 2020-21, when travel was disrupted due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.

In 2025-26, the median age for both male and female visitors was 41 years. Ten years ago, in 2015-16, the median age for male visitors was 41 and for female visitors was 40. When broken down into 5-year age groups, the largest group of visitor arrivals was those aged between 25 and 29 years. For this age group, China was the top source country (146,850 arrivals).

 ‘Holiday’ was the most frequently stated reason for journey for all 5-year age groups up to 54 years, and ‘visiting friends/relatives’ was the most frequently stated reason for journey for all 5-year age groups from 55 to 99 years inclusive. 

STVA - main reason for journey

Visitors are asked the main reason for their journey upon arrival in Australia.

The most common reason for journey in 2025-26 was ‘holiday’, accounting for 45.4% of visitor arrivals. In 2024-25 the most common reason for journey was also ‘holiday’, accounting for 43.5% of visitor arrivals.

  1. As a percentage of all short-term visitor arrivals.

Historically, ‘holiday’ has been the most frequently reported reason for journey for visitor arrivals each year, however, international travel restrictions due to COVID-19 caused a temporary change in travel behaviour. ‘Visiting friends/relatives’ became the most frequently reported reason for journey between 2020-21 and 2022-23, and proportionally fewer travellers reported ‘holiday’ as their main reason for journey. In 2023-24, ‘holiday’ returned as the most common reason for journey and has remained at the top of the list in 2024-25 and 2025-26.

In 2025-26, female visitors were more likely than males to record their main reason for journey as ‘holiday’, ‘education’ or ‘visiting friends/relatives’. Male visitors were more likely to record ‘business’, ‘employment’ or ‘convention/conference’ than female visitors.

  1. Reason for journey as a percentage of all short-term visitor arrivals for each sex.
  2. Visiting friends/relatives

STVA - duration of stay

Visitors are asked their intended duration of stay in Australia upon arrival. Analysis in this section is undertaken on short-term trips (less than 1 year).

In 2025-26, the median duration of stay in Australia was 12 days. This was similar to 10 years ago and prior to COVID-19 travel restrictions (2018-19) when the median duration of stay was 10 days. The median duration of stay was higher during years with travel restrictions (up to 26 days in 2020-21 and 25 in 2021-22) and in 2022-23 (14 days).

The median duration varied among the states and territories, as well as for visitors from different source countries.

1.13 Short-term visitor arrivals, state/territory of stay - top 10 source countries(a) - median duration of stay (days) - 2025-26
NSWVicQldSAWATasNTACTAust.(b)
New Zealand567812101077
China(c)131415551512159114
USA101212131412171010
UK192021212121202020
Singapore89109810898
Japan676978876
India306157856161917161
Korea, South7101011101110127
Hong Kong101010141010101510
Indonesia111112221011301111
All countries101310201414202012
  1. Top 10 source countries ordered by highest number of arrivals for Australia (from top to bottom), for the year ending June 2026
  2. Includes Other Territories.
  3. Excludes SARs and Taiwan.

In 2025-26, visitors from India recorded a median duration of stay of 61 days, which was the longest of the top 10 source countries. This was the same median duration of stay as the previous 3 years (61 days) and more than double the median duration of 30 days in 2015-16.

Of the top 10 source countries, visitors from Japan recorded the shortest stays, with a median duration of 6 days. Visitors from Japan have experienced the same median duration since 2008-09, except for in 2020-21 and 2021-22, when COVID-19 travel restrictions led to much higher durations of stay, and in 2022-23 (8 days).

The median duration of stay by state or territory was highest in the Northern Territory, the Australian Capital Territory and South Australia at 20 days, and lowest in Queensland and New South Wales at 10 days, in 2025-26. 

The median duration of stay for visitors travelling to Australia for ‘employment’ reasons has increased since 2015-16. ‘Employment’ surpassed ‘education’ as the reason for journey with the longest median duration of stay for short-term visitors to Australia in 2024-25 (151 days) and remained the longest in 2025-26 (141 days). People travelling for ‘convention/conference’ and ‘business’ had the shortest (7 days). 

The median duration for other reasons for journey varied:

  • ‘Education’ (122 days)
  • ‘Visiting friends/relatives’ (17 days)
  • ‘Holiday’ (9 days).

Short-term resident returns (STRR)

Compares annual international travel arrivals over time by destination 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 previous release, see the Annual analysis articles section of Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia.

For Australian residents returning to Australia in 2025-26:

  • There were 12,711,650 resident returns from overseas - an increase of 3.7% on one year earlier.
  • Indonesia was the leading destination country for Australians travelling overseas, accounting for 14.0% of overseas trips.
  • The most popular reason for travel was ‘holiday’ (60.8%).
  • The median trip duration was 14 days.

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.
 

Annual resident returns

There were 12,711,650 resident returns recorded in 2025-26. This was an increase of over 450,580 (3.7%) on 2024-25, when 12,261,080 trips were taken.

The total number of residents returning from overseas in 2025-26 was the highest on record, increasing 3.7% on last year and surpassing the previous high set in 2024-25, by 450,580 trips. Monthly resident returns exceeded 100% of the 2019 (pre-COVID) volume every month in 2025-26, with monthly volumes ranging from 104.4% to 120.8% of pre-COVID volumes.

The number of Australian residents travelling overseas has largely been increasing over recent decades, with the general trend interrupted by various historical events such as the:

  • Early 1990s recession in Australia
  • September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001
  • Bali bombings in 2002
  • Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003
  • Global Financial Crisis (GFC) in 2008
  • Global COVID-19 pandemic starting in 2020.

A substantial decline was observed from March 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19. Travel by Australian residents has increased since border restrictions were removed in February 2022 and has surpassed the volume observed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Destination countries

The top 5 destination countries in 2025-26 were Indonesia, New Zealand, Japan, China and the USA.

In 2025-26: 

  • Short-term resident returns for all top 5 destination countries except for the USA surpassed both 2024-25 and pre-COVID volumes.
  • Indonesia was the leading destination country with 777,270 trips, with ‘holiday’ the most frequently recorded reason for travel (86.2%).
  • New Zealand was the second highest destination country, with 1,489,460 trips.
  • The USA was the only top 5 destination country where travel volumes were lower than 10 years ago, with 381,900 fewer trips in 2025-26 than 2015-16. 
  • For all top 5 destination countries, ‘holiday’ was the most common reason for journey and ‘visiting friends/relatives’ was second.

Ten years ago, in 2015-16, the top 5 countries were New Zealand, Indonesia, the USA, the UK and Thailand.

  1. Top 5 destination countries based on year ending June 2026.
  2. Excludes SARs and Taiwan.

The number of overseas trips taken by Australian residents has increased since the removal of travel restrictions in February 2022 and has exceeded pre-COVID volumes in 2025-26, but the extent to which travel has recovered has varied among destination countries.

Travel to 8 of the top 10 destination countries in 2025-26 exceeded pre-COVID levels. Japan exceeded 2018-19 volumes by 105.2%, Vietnam by 76.0% and India by 47.9%. Of the top 10, the USA had the lowest number relative to pre-COVID, with 2025-26 levels 37.0% lower than 2018-19.

  1. Top 10 destination countries ordered by highest number of resident returns (from left to right), for the year ending June 2026.
  2. Excludes SARs and Taiwan.
2.7 Short-term resident returns, Australia - top 10 destination countries(a) - selected years
2015-16 ('000)2018-19 ('000)2024-25 ('000)2025-26 ('000)
Indonesia1,147.461,310.841,741.371,777.27
New Zealand1,292.551,444.171,409.321,489.46
Japan334.19483.63910.64992.55
China(b)447.26610.87652.96743.96
USA1,061.501,078.84746.22679.60
Thailand558.19565.27643.53624.26
India301.25416.30590.56615.74
UK600.62667.81635.51606.08
Vietnam247.85322.47490.51567.48
Fiji353.00345.35408.24430.07
All countries9,665.3311,231.8112,261.0812,711.65
  1. Top 10 destination countries based on year ending June 2026.
  2. Excludes SARs and Taiwan.

STRR - state or territory of residence

All travellers are asked their intended address in Australia upon arrival. 

For 2025-26:

  • New South Wales had the highest share of total resident returns (32.2%)
  • The Northern Territory recorded the lowest share of total resident returns (0.7%).

2.8 Proportion of short-term resident returns by state/territory of residence(a) - 2025-26 (%)

This map presents the proportion of short-term resident returns in Australia in 2025-26, by their state or territory of residence.

  1. As a percentage of all short-term resident returns.

Ten years ago, in 2015-16, the Northern Territory had a higher proportion of resident returns (1.0%) than Tasmania (0.9%). The Northern Territory’s proportion has since fallen to 0.7% of resident returns, while Tasmania’s increased to 1.0% in 2025-26. Queensland had the largest increase in the proportion of resident returns from 17.2% in 2015-16 to 19.0% in 2025-26, while New South Wales had the largest decrease, from 34.5% in 2015-16 to 32.2% in 2025-26.

Most states and territories recorded growth in the number of overseas trips taken by residents in the years prior to 2020. Western Australia remained steady from 2014 until the impact of the pandemic, while the Northern Territory fluctuated across the decade. There was a considerable drop for all states and territories from March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The removal of travel restrictions in February 2022 resulted in an increase in international travel from residents of all states, with all states except the Northern Territory exceeding pre-COVID 2018-19 volumes this year. The Northern Territory reached 96.2% of 2018-19 volumes this year, the lowest of all states and territories. The highest volume relative to pre-COVID was for Western Australia, with 2025-26 returns reaching 124.1% of 2018-19 volumes.

Thetop destination country for all states and territories in 2025-26 was either New Zealand or Indonesia:

  • New Zealand was the most popular destination for residents from NSW, Qld, and the ACT
  • Indonesia was the top destination for Vic., SA, WA, Tas. and the NT.

Ten years earlier, in 2015-16, the top destination for residents of Victoria and Tasmania was New Zealand, and the USA was the top destination for residents of the ACT. The top destination has remained the same for residents of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

STRR - age and sex

There were more trips taken overseas by Australian males than females in 2025-26 (6,485,030 males compared with 6,226,630 females). Ten years earlier, in 2015-16, there were also more trips taken by males than females (5,040,210 males compared with 4,625,120 females).

In 2025-26, male residents returning to Australia had a median age of 42 years, whereas female residents had a median age of 41 years. Ten years ago, in 2015-16, the median age for male visitors was 42, and 40 for female visitors.

When broken down into 5-year age groups, more women than men travelled in the age range of 15 to 29 and there were more men than women in all other age groups under 95 years of age. The largest group of resident returns was those aged between 40 and 44 years. For this age group, Indonesia was the top destination country (167,800 resident returns). 

STRR - main reason for journey

Australian residents returning from overseas are asked to provide the main reason for their journey.

The most common reason for journey in 2025-26 was ‘holiday’, accounting for 60.8% of overseas trips. This was a slight increase on 2024-25, when ‘holiday’ accounted for 60.0% of trips, and was higher than 2018-19 (pre-COVID), when ‘holiday’ accounted for 57.3% of trips.

  1. As a percentage of all short-term resident returns.

Prior to COVID, ‘holiday’ was the most frequently reported reason for residents returning from overseas trips (57.3% from 2017-18 to 2019-20). However, due to the impact of the pandemic and travel restrictions, ‘visiting friends/relatives’ became the most frequent reason for journey for 2020-21 and 2021-22, reaching a peak of 65.4% in May 2021. Since 2022-23, ‘holiday’ has re-emerged as the most frequently reported reason for residents returning from overseas trips.

In 2025-26, female residents returning to Australia were more likely than male residents to record their main reason for journey as 'holiday' or 'visiting friends/relatives' or 'education'. Male residents returning to Australia were more likely than female residents to record their main reason for journey as ‘business’, ‘convention/conference’ or ‘employment’.

  1. Reason for journey as a percentage of all short-term resident returns for each sex.
  2. Visiting friends/relatives

STRR - duration of stay

The exact duration of stay is measured for Australian residents returning from overseas. Analysis in this section is undertaken on short-term trips (less than 1 year).

During 2025-26, the median duration of stay for Australians travelling overseas on short-term trips was 14 days, which was one day less than in 2024-25 (15 days).

In 2018-19, prior to the pandemic, the median duration of short-term resident trips was 14 days. Following the pandemic, the median duration of stay for short-term resident trips peaked at 29 days in 2020-21, decreased to 19 days in 2021-22 and to 15 days from 2022-23 to 2024-25.

The median duration varied among the states and territories, as well as the destination countries.

2.13 Short-term resident returns, state/territory of residence - top 10 destination countries(a) - median duration of stay (days) - 2025-26
NSWVicQldSAWATasNTACTAust.(b)
Indonesia109998117109
New Zealand7881012111398
Japan151514151616161515
China(c)181917191617141818
USA151717191922221616
Thailand121314131113141212
India232724262324242624
UK242525272429242725
Vietnam151515171415171515
Fiji777898977
All Countries151514151216121514
  1. Top 10 destination countries ordered by highest number of resident returns for Australia (from top to bottom), for the year ending June 2026.
  2. Includes Other Territories.
  3. Excludes SARs and Taiwan.

Of the top 10 destination countries, residents visiting the UK and India stayed away the longest, with a median duration of stay of 25 and 24 days, respectively. Residents travelling to Fiji had a median duration of 7 days, which was the shortest of the top 10 destination countries.

Prior to the pandemic, ‘employment’ was the reason for journey with the longest median duration of stay for residents returning from overseas trips. Between 2020-21 and 2022-23, ‘education’ surpassed or was equal to ‘employment’ as the reason for journey with the longest median duration, however, since 2023-24, ‘employment’ has had a longer median duration. 

In 2025-26, residents travelling for ‘employment’, ‘visiting friends/relatives’ and ‘education’ all had a median duration of stay of 21 days. The median duration of stay for other reasons for journey varied:

  • ‘Holiday’ (13 days)
  • ‘Convention/conference’ (8 days)
  • ‘Business’ (7 days).

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