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
December 2023
Released
15/02/2024
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Key statistics

In December 2023:

  • Short-term visitor arrivals: 876,860 – an annual increase of 227,890 trips
  • Short-term resident returns: 739,600 – an annual increase of 209,630 trips
  • Total arrivals: 1,704,730 – an annual increase of 444,180 
  • Total departures: 2,027,740 – an annual increase of 512,450

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.

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 travelDec-19
(no.)		Dec-21
(no.)		Dec-22
(no.)		Dec-23
(no.)		Dec-22 to Dec-23
change (%)
Total arrivals1,889,300196,1701,260,5501,704,73035.2
    Permanent arrivals(b)7,81011,47011,37014,88030.8
    Australian resident returns(c) 
        long-term21,85025,88024,63021,650-12.1
        short-term749,66052,830529,980739,60039.6
    Overseas visitor arrivals(d) 
        short-term1,077,72073,290648,970876,86035.1
Total departures2,240,340227,2401,515,2902,027,74033.8
    Australian resident departures(c) 
        long-term29,39017,81027,30027,8402.0
        short-term1,304,480168,6301,029,6401,292,73025.6
    Overseas visitor departures(d) 
        long-term35,29028,22046,53048,8505.0
        short-term871,18012,580411,820658,32059.9
  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 876,860 short-term trips were recorded, an increase of 227,890 compared with the corresponding month of the previous year.
  • The number of trips for December 2023 was 18.6% lower than the pre-COVID level in December 2019.
  • New Zealand was the largest source country, accounting for 14% of all visitor arrivals.

Countries where visitors came from

The three leading source countries where visitors came from were:

  • New Zealand (125,640 trips)
  • The UK (97,170)
  • The USA (85,200).

Details

State or territory of stay

All travellers are asked their intended address in Australia upon arrival. For December 2023, the highest number of visitor arrivals for short-term trips was observed for New South Wales (351,760), whilst the Northern Territory recorded the fewest (3,000).

2.3 Short-term visitor arrivals, state or territory of stay - December 2023

This map presents the number of short-term visitor arrivals in Australia in December 2023, by their state of intended stay.

- New South Wales (351,760)
- Victoria (236,680)
- Queensland (159,270)
- South Australia (25,240)
- Western Australia (80,370)
- Tasmania (9,990)
- Northern Territory (3,000)
- Australian Capital Territory (10,430).

2.4 Short-term visitor arrivals, state or territory of stay
State or territory of stayDec 2019 (no.)Dec 2021 (no.)Dec 2022 (no.)Dec 2023 (no.)Dec 2022 to Dec 2023 change (%)
NSW388,71037,150242,050351,76045.3
Vic.299,56026,340170,840236,68038.5
Qld212,0503,340120,560159,27032.1
SA33,3001,58023,11025,2409.2
WA111,8001,81070,61080,37013.8
Tas.14,9001,04010,1509,990-1.6
NT4,4803402,5703,00016.8
ACT12,9201,6809,08010,43014.9
Australia(a)1,077,72073,290648,970876,86035.1
  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 December 2023 there were 41,670 international student arrivals to Australia, an increase of 5,830 students compared with the corresponding month of the previous year.
  • The number of student arrivals in December 2023 was 7.7% higher than the pre-COVID levels in December 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 739,600 short-term trips were recorded, an increase of 209,630 compared with the corresponding month of the previous year.
  • The number of trips for December 2023 was 1.3% lower than the pre-COVID level in December 2019.
  • New Zealand was the most popular destination country, accounting for 15% of all resident returns.

 

Destination countries

The three leading destination countries residents returned from were:

  • New Zealand (110,000 trips)
  • Indonesia (103,570)
  • The USA (49,540).

Details

State or territory of residence

All travellers are asked their intended address in Australia upon arrival. For December 2023, the highest number of resident returns from short-term trips was observed for New South Wales (243,140), whilst the Northern Territory recorded the fewest (4,570).

13.3 Short-term resident returns, state or territory of residence - December 2023

Description:
This map presents the number of short-term resident returns in Australia in December 2023, by their state of intended residence.

- New South Wales (243,140)
- Victoria (196,210)
- Queensland (156,790)
- South Australia (29,800)
- Western Australia (88,240)
- Tasmania (6,310)
- Northern Territory (4,570)
- Australian Capital Territory (14,350).

13.4 Short-term resident returns, state or territory of residence
State or territory of residenceDec 2019 (no.)Dec 2021 (no.)Dec 2022 (no.)Dec 2023 (no.)Dec 2022 to Dec 2023 change (%)
NSW244,33027,900178,160243,14036.5
Vic.195,34016,840144,140196,21036.1
Qld156,0203,700108,460156,79044.6
SA32,4601,14020,85029,80042.9
WA93,7701,33059,55088,24048.2
Tas.6,9403104,0106,31057.3
NT6,6502303,7804,57021.1
ACT14,0201,37010,94014,35031.2
Australia(a)749,66052,830529,980739,60039.6
  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

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, December 2023

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