Year ending December 2023

The International Visitor Survey (IVS) results provide statistics on how international visitors travel within Australia. You can find national, state and territory results for the:

  • number of trips taken
  • nights spent on a trip
  • amount spent in Australia
  • total amount spent on a trip.

You can also:

  • read about the factors influencing international travel to Australia
  • see the changes compared over different time frames impacted by COVID-19
  • read about the return of international visitors to Australia.


Annual snapshot


Spend in Australia

$28.0 billion | 89% of December 2019 levels


Number of trips

6.6 million | 76% of December 2019 levels


Nights spent in Australia

242.3 million | 88% of December 2019 levels


Total spend

$43.1 billion | 95% of December 2019 levels (includes spend outside Australia)


Quarterly snapshot


Spend in Australia

$7.1 billion 96% of December 2019 levels


Number of trips

2.0 million 81% of December 2019 levels


Nights spent in Australia

67.7 million on par with December 2019 levels


Total spend

$11.7 billion 1% up on December 2019 levels (includes spend outside Australia)

Notes on the data

  • Unless we say otherwise, we compared the summary results for:
    • the December 2023 quarter to the December quarter 2019.
    • the year ending December 2023 to the year ending December 2019.
  • Spend is reported as spend in Australia. Spend in Australia is different to total spend. Total spend includes purchases made overseas such as:
    • international connections and stopovers (including airfares)
    • other pre-travel or post-travel spend in the source market or elsewhere outside Australia on expenses such as luggage, visas, duty-free retail and ground transport. 

International trips and spend key results

International tourism in Australia continues to recover following the COVID-19 pandemic. In the year ending December 2023, there were 6.6 million trips to Australia. 

The top reasons for travel to Australia in the year ending December 2023 were:

  • Holiday travel with 2.6 million trips.
    • 65% of December 2019 levels.
    • Spend in Australia was $8.3 billion, 80% of December 2019 levels.
  • Visiting friends and relatives with 2.4 million trips.
    • 93% of December 2019 levels.
    • Spend in Australia was $4.6 billion, 11% up December 2019 levels.
  • Business travel with 716,000 trips.
    • 71% of December 2019 levels.
    • Spend in Australia was $2.1 billion, 98% of December 2019 levels.
  • Education with 418,000 trips.
    • This was 70% of December 2019 levels.
    • Spend in Australia was $10.4 billion, 84% of December 2019 levels.

The proportion of trips to Australia for holiday purposes continued to increase from 37% in the year ending September 2023 to 39% in the year ending December 2023. This is the highest proportion since falling to 3% in the year ending March 2021 as a result of international border closures.  

Top 5 international visitor markets

Australia’s top 5 international markets for the year ending December 2023 were:

  • New Zealand with 1.1 million trips.
    • 88% of December 2019 levels. 
    • Spend in Australia was $2.0 billion, 23% up on December 2019 levels. 
  • United States of America with 617,000 trips.
    • 80% of December 2019 levels.
    • Spend in Australia was $2.0 billion, 2% up on December 2019 levels.
  • United Kingdom with 561,000 trips.
    • 84% of December 2019 levels. 
    • Spend in Australia was $1.9 billion, 7% up on December 2019 levels. 
  • China with 507,000 trips.
    • 38% of December 2019 levels. 
    • Spend in Australia was $5.8 billion, 56% of December 2019 levels. 
  • India with 375,000 trips. 
    • 99% of December 2019 levels. 
    • Spend in Australia was $1.4 billion, 13% up on December 2019 levels. 

Total spend

Total spend in the year ending December 2023 was $43.1 billion. This was 95% of December 2019 levels. Total spend includes purchases made overseas such as:

  • international connections and stopovers (including airfares)
  • other pre-travel or post-travel spend in the source market or elsewhere outside Australia on things like luggage, visas, duty-free retail and ground transport.

Data tables

More information

Contact TRA

mail   tourism.research@tra.gov.au