The big change in overseas holiday destinations as Aussies give the US a miss
There has been a big change in the top three overseas destinations for Australians during a record year for travel.
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Japan has cemented its position in Australia’s top three overseas holiday destinations, overtaking the US, after a record-breaking year for international travel.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data for December showed short-term visits to Japan were up 76 per cent on 2019 figures, at 62,570, putting the country well ahead of the US in fourth place with 52,650.
New Zealand reclaimed the number one spot in December from Bali, however Indonesia finished the year as the undisputed top holiday spot for Australians.
A total of 1.67 million Aussies travelled to Indonesia in 2024, an all-time record, ahead of 1.36 million visitors to New Zealand (1.46m in 2019).
Japan took third place for the first time, with 772,270 Australians taking advantage of good air capacity and a favourable exchange rate, compared to 504,200 five years ago.
In contrast, the high price of a US holiday saw the total number of Australian visitors slump to 734,660, from 1,055,600 in 2019.
Trips to the UK totalled 578,230 last year, compared to 616,930 five years ago.
As major airports observed heading into December, overseas travel was at record levels for the month with the number of outbound holiday-makers at 111 per cent of pre-Covid figures.
But international visitors to Australia remained below 2019 levels, at 87.7 per cent, with 945,280 short-term arrivals, including 399,190 holidaymakers.
New Zealand remained the biggest source of overseas arrivals, followed by people from the UK, the US and China.
None of those markets is yet to return to 2019 levels, however Australia is seeing a lot more short-term visits by people from India, aided by the pull of the summer Test cricket series.
The number of arrivals from South Korea and Indonesia are also up on pre-pandemic numbers.
Tourism lecturer and adjunct fellow at the University of Technology Sydney, David Beirman, said globally international travel recovered to 99 per cent of pre-Covid levels in 2024.
“Australia is falling a bit behind and the main reason for that is the Chinese market hasn’t quite recovered yet,” Dr Beirman said.
“Although we’re getting growth from the Indian market, that hasn’t replaced the huge numbers of Chinese we had before Covid.”
He said the slow return of Chinese visitors was not due to any failure of Australian marketing, but more to do with the fact they were simply not travelling as much as pre-pandemic.
“During Covid the Chinese learnt to enjoy their own country,” Dr Beirman said.
In terms of outbound travel, Dr Beirman predicted Japan would only increase in popularity in the year ahead, but it was unlikely to knock Bali or New Zealand out of the top two spots.
“It will come fairly close,” he said.
“From an Australian perspective, it’s very affordable and they do a hell of a job marketing Japan here. Not that many years ago Japan was struggling to get five or six million tourists a year, and now they’re getting close to 37 million (from all over the world). It’s only going to get bigger.”
The ABS data coincided with HSBC’s “money mentality” study that found holidays remained the top financial goal of Australians in 2025, ahead of saving money and paying off debt.
Of the just over 1000 people surveyed, 43 per cent said they were focused on paying for a holiday, with Gen Z respondents aged 18 to 29 the most likely to travel this year.
Head of international wealth and premier banking for HSBC Australia, Jessica Power, said the results showed a “shift in financial priorities”.
“As housing affordability remains relatively unattainable especially for young people, saving for a holiday or buying a small luxury item may be more attainable and that allows people to live in the moment,” she said.
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Originally published as The big change in overseas holiday destinations as Aussies give the US a miss
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