International Tourist Visitor Nights

IBISWorld expects the number of international tourist visitor nights to increase by 11.1% in 2023-24, to 279.2 million nights. International travel to Australia has been recovering since the easing of international border restrictions in February 2022 and is expected to continue rebounding in the current year. Most visitors are likely to be travelling for the purpose of visiting friends and family, with particularly strong pent-up demand within this market driving the increase in visitor nights. However, the ongoing presence of high inflation that brings on higher travel costs will partly constrain growth in international travel to Australia in the current year.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted international travel. Tourism to Australia has 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. 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 COVID-19 pandemic have been for medium-term stays, such as for employment purposes.