Australia
Introduction
Travellers from Australia made 16.0 million outbound visits in 2023, with a total international tourism expenditure of US$27.1 billion.
In 2023, the UK welcomed 1.2 million visits from Australia. During the travellers’ visits, their total expenditure was £1.6 billion, with an average spend of £1,367 per visit.
Discover visitor behaviour, travel trade insights, detailed data visualisations for this market – and more. The statistics in this market report are collated from a range of sources such as the Office for National Statistics (ONS), as well as sponsored questions and our own research. For further details, see How we source this information.
Visitor characteristics
- 62% of holiday visitors (excluding British expats) are making a repeat trip to Britain (within the last ten years).
- 12% of visits from Australia were made by British nationals in 2023.
- 85% of departing Australians (excluding British expats) are ‘extremely likely’ to recommend Britain for a visit.
- Just under a third of the visits from all Australian states to Britain are made by visitors that reside in New South Wales.
Popular activities for this market
Dining in a restaurant.
Going shopping.
Visiting a pub.
Explore the inbound data in full
Use our visualisations to see data from this market in greater depth and clarity. Compare annual statistics, and filter by age group, gender, trip duration and more. It includes seasonality, trip purpose and regional spread of visitors to UK destinations. This data is based on the International Passenger Survey, conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Perceptions of Britain in the Australian market
- Australians hold an upbeat opinion of Britain as they ranked it fourth overall of 60 nations in the Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index 2023, stable compared with 2022.
- Museums, films and music are the cultural products or services that Australians most keenly associate with Britain.
- Australians expect that a trip to Britain would be ‘educational’, ‘fascinating’ and ‘exciting’.
Global context
Top-level statistics relating to the population, GDP, tourism expenditure and popular destinations for this market. For greater detail on inbound tourism flows from this market to the UK, see our data visualisations.
| Measure | 2023 |
| International tourism expenditure (US$bn) | 27.1 |
| Global rank for international tourism expenditure | 12 |
| Number of outbound visits (m) | 16.0 |
| Most visited destination | Indonesia |
| Most visited destination in Western Europe | UK |
Key demographic and economic data
| Measure | 2023 |
| Population (m) | 27 |
| GDP per capita PPP (US$) | 64,514 |
| Annual average GDP growth over past decade (%) | 2.4 |
| Annual GDP growth (%) | 2.0 |
Caring for visitors
Meeting the locals is a key part of an Australian’s holiday: they love to chat with local people and learn about the history of the area, recommended pubs and markets, and local stories.
All types of accommodation appeal to the Australian market.
British pubs provide a unique experience that is not found in Australia.
Most Australian visitors arrive by plane very early in the morning, and appreciate early check-in to their room, or at least the opportunity to shower.
The leisure and travel trade
Australian consumers continue to display a high usage of ‘bricks and mortar’ retail agencies for purchasing long-haul travel. It is worth noting enquiries come to these not just through foot traffic but also via the travel agencies websites, email enquiries and call centres.
Australians tend to book far in advance between 7-12 months out from travel dates: mostly flexible packages, semi-packaged holidays, group tours or a combination of these.
Access to Britain from Australia
The key routes and transport modes that connect this market with the UK.
| Measure | 2023 |
| Weekly direct departures from Perth to London Heathrow | 7 |
| Weekly departing seats to gateway cities which have routes to the UK | >257,600 |
| Main gateway hubs en-route from Australia to the UK | Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, Middle East, Americas and Africa |
| Airports with connecting flights to the UK from Australia | 35 |
- Australia has a highly complex aviation market, with extensive outbound seat capacity. Australian travellers have a diverse range of options for travelling to the UK, with connecting flights via aviation hubs in Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, the Middle East, the Americas and Africa.
- Connectivity has seen extremely strong rebounded growth since COVID-19: in 2023, direct seat capacity is equal to pre-pandemic capacity.
- Departing visitors from Australia travelling home by air are charged £92 in Air Passenger Duty if travelling in economy class.
Further resources
Australia Market Snapshot.pdf
Australia Market Snapshot 2024
Australia market profile 2021
Market and Trade Profile for Australia
Australia Aviation Profile
Outbound travel to the UK from Australia
Australia Experience Seekers Pen Portrait.pdf
Australia Experience Seeker Pen Portrait
Australian COVID sentiment tracker.pdf
View the full findings
Where visitors from Australia to the UK reside in their own country.xlsx
Where visitors from Australia to the UK reside in their own country
Australian Buzzseekers report
Australian Buzzseekers’ attitudes towards and image of Britain, and their behaviours when planning and booking mid- and long- haul holidays (including to Britain).
How we source this information
We work with a number of data sources to provide a rich and insightful picture of our key inbound source markets. This includes, but is not limited to, data provided by Oxford Economics, the UNWTO, Apex, Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index and from our own surveys and ad-hoc research. The largest share of these data comes from the International Passenger Survey (IPS) by the ONS.
Visit our About the International Passenger Survey page for more information on how this data is collected and analysed.
Discover more
Amelia Robertson
Public Relations Executive, Australia and New Zealand, Sydney, Australia
