International tourist visitor nights

IBISWorld expects the number of international tourist visitor nights to increase by 0.9% in 2025-26, to 303.7 million nights. International travel to Australia has continued to grow since border restrictions were lifted in February 2022, with short-term arrivals in 2025 reaching 8.94 million, a 8.1% jump from previous year. This significant jump reflects strong and renewed interest in visiting Australia. While growth is expected to continue, the year-on-year increase in 2025 appears more modest following the sharp recovery over the three years through 2024. Demand is bolstered by a surge in "bleisure" travel as more business and educational visitors extend stays to incorporate leisure experiences, cementing longer average trip durations. Additionally, the swift recovery of the Chinese market, alongside increased direct airline capacity and targeted event programming, has diversified both the volume and value of inbound tourism. According to data from the TRA, the share of total nights spent by international visitors from China soared from 9.3% in 2022-23, to 15.1% and 16.8% in 2023-24 and 2024-25.

International travel was significantly disrupted by the pandemic. Tourism to Australia was essentially been halted due to the ban on inbound travellers imposed by the Federal Government, which came into effect in March 2020. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, short-term arrivals to Australia reached a monthly low of 2,250 in April 2020, down from 700,370 one year prior. Monthly totals remained low during 2020-21, contributing to the low base and the soaring international tourist visitor nights over the five-year period. However, international tourist visitor nights rose in the June 2021 quarter upon the establishment of a travel bubble with New Zealand. In addition, most arrivals to Australia during the pandemic have been for medium-term stays, such as for employment purposes. Chinese travellers remain the dominant market in 2024-25, accounting for 16.8% of total nights spent. Visitors from India follows as a rapidly growing source, accounting for 9.8% of total nights spent in 2024-25 and reflecting the rising impact of Asia's emerging outbound markets on Australia's tourism growth. Overall, IBISWorld forecasts the number of international visitor nights to surge at a compound annual rate of 100.4% over the five years through 2025-26, following low visitor numbers in 2020-21.