ABS travel data shows fall in Aussie visits to US
Australian holiday-makers continue to drift away from the US, with fresh Australian Bureau of Statistics data revealing a stark fall off in visitor numbers.
Overseas arrivals and departures data shows the US fell from third to fourth most popular travel destination across 2024-25.
Travel to the vast and vibrant North American democracy was now 25 per cent lower from 10 years ago, the ABS said.
China, meanwhile, rose two spots to fifth place, even as the government recommends travellers exercise a 'high degree of caution' when visiting the Communist country.
More restrictive US trade and entry policies, introduced following US President Donald Trump's victory in November last year, could be dampening Australia's traditional American wanderlust.
The US boasts a range of legendary cities including New York. Picture: Visit USA
In a trading update from July, travel booking company Flight Centre warned of an 'ongoing global downturn in bookings to the US' and said Australian holiday-makers were searching for destinations closer to home.
'This volatility temporarily disrupted traditional travel and booking patterns during Flight Centre's peak trading period as some customers either booked closer-to-home overseas holidays (in Australia, examples include China, Japan, Fiji and New Zealand) or delayed finalising travel plans,' the company said.
The $2.8bn company delivered a reduced profit forecast as a result of the disruption in traditional travel patterns.
Though travel to the US declined, Indonesia held steady as Australia's most popular travel destination.
Indonesia remains Australia's most popular holiday destination. Picture: Getty Images
The northern neighbour, which boasts the tourism crown jewel of Bali, accounted for 14 per cent of Australian overseas trips across the year.
Some 87 per cent of the 1,741,370 trips recorded to Indonesia were for holidays.
New Zealand came in second place, Japan third, the US fourth and China at No.5.
Trips to Japan have tripled compared with 2015, while trips to India have doubled.
For travel into Australia, New Zealanders took out top spot, accounting for 16.6 per cent of all visitors, or 1,391,140 visits.
The median duration of stay in Australia was 12 days, the same as 2023-24.
Originally published as ABS overseas arrivals and departures data shows 25 per cent fall in Aussie visits to US
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
a minute ago
- ABC News
Legal Practice Board of WA faces parliamentary inquiry amid 'detailed list' of complaints
The tables will be turned on WA's legal watchdog as it faces a parliamentary inquiry into longstanding concerns about its operations. The Legal Practice Board of WA (LPBWA) is the independent regulator for the state's legal profession, deciding who is admitted to practice law, issuing annual practising certificates and resolving complaints about lawyers' conduct. But the LPBWA itself has been the subject of complaints for years, according to the profession's peak body. "Concerns about the board's governance and processes have been building for some time," Law Society CEO Kate Wellington told the ABC. "We appreciate the nature of the board's regulatory role. The board's purpose is public protection. "The legal profession, too, serves a public purpose and it is important that its ability to fulfil that purpose is not hindered by barriers to effective practice." Late last month, the Law Society said it presented a report to the board "based on feedback shared with us in a profession-wide survey, which pointed to delays, service challenges and problematic regulatory processes". The chair of state parliament's Public Administration Committee, which will probe the LPBWA, said the survey contributed to the committee's decision to open its inquiry. "People were talking about the timeliness of responses, the manner of interactions, a lot of technical issues around applications," Labor MP Kate Doust said. "It's quite a detailed list. "We were quite surprised at the nature of the responses in the survey and certainly the number of responses to the survey." Ms Doust said given the role the Legal Practice Board played in WA's legal system, the committee felt it necessary to investigate those complaints. "You want to make sure that people have got appropriate access and timely responses to the matters they have to deal with, their engagement with the board," she said. "There just seemed to be a fairly high rate of dissatisfaction with their engagement." The board's annual report for 2023-24 showed it failed to meet many of its time-based key performance indicators — for example, while it aimed to resolve 80 per cent of "consumer matters" within 90 days, it did so in just 42 per cent of cases. It also aimed to resolve 80 per cent of the "highest complexity significant investigations" within a year, but only met that timeframe 40 per cent of the time. The only time-based targets that were on track related to internal reviews of decisions. The committee is now calling for submissions to inform its wide-ranging investigation into "the operation and effectiveness" of the board. "This inquiry will give those impacted an opportunity to voice their concerns without fear," Ms Wellington said. In a statement, the board's executive director welcomed the opportunity to engage with the committee. "These are matters we take seriously. "Over the past 12 months the board has commenced a number of internal reforms aimed at improving service delivery, streamlining regulatory approvals and enhancing stakeholder engagement. "The board remains committed to maintaining the trust of the public, the legal profession and government." In May the LPBWA was hacked, resulting in "limited corporate correspondence" being taken, which it said included "minimal contact information" and "bank account details for the board and a very small number of third parties who have been directly notified". It forced the organisation to take some of its systems online and process lawyers' practising certificates manually.
AU Financial Review
31 minutes ago
- AU Financial Review
Bonds, Sheridan and Berlei back on the block in Hanes strategic review
High-profile Australian clothing and homeware brands including Bonds, Sheridan and Berlei could be sold after the American giant that acquired them almost a decade ago agreed to a $3.3 billion merger. Hanesbrands purchased Pacific Brands in 2016 after several years of pain for the ASX-listed apparel maker, which had written off more than $1.5 billion and sold businesses such as Hard Yakka workwear and Volley shoes.
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Live updates: Australian share market to open flat, Wall Street little changed, US Fed rate-cut expectations trimmed
The Australian share market is set for a soft open as Wall Street ends flat, while a hotter-than-expected US producer prices report dampens expectations of potential interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. A report from the US Labor Department showed producer prices increased the most in three years in July due to a surge in the costs of goods and services, suggesting a broad pick-up in inflation was imminent. We'll bring you the latest on what's happening on the markets throughout the day in our live blog. Disclaimer: this blog is not intended as investment advice.
