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FlightShort-term travel from Australia has reached about two-thirds of pre-pandemic levels and is rising steadily, new official statistics show.

Data on overseas arrival and departures, published yesterday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, show that short-term resident returns (a way of gauging outbound travel) for the month of September reached a total of 633,790 short-term trips, an increase of 627,740 compared with the corresponding month of the previous year.

Obviously, the corresponding month last year (September 2021) was a Covid-ravaged disaster for travel. A better comparison is September 2019, before Covid-19 was heard of.

The good news is that the number of short-term overseas trips estimated for September 2022 was just 36.2% lower than the pre-Covid level in September 2019. As more than six weeks have passed since the data for this September was collected, outbound totals have probably already reached or outstripped two-thirds of pre-pandemic levels. With entry restrictions disappearing worldwide, the main brake on travel may well be air capacity, which airlines are now adding as fast as they can.

Climbing back. Short-term resident returns. Source, ABS

Climbing back. Short-term resident returns. Source, ABS

New Zealand was the most popular destination country for Aussie travellers in September 2022, accounting for 14% of all resident returns. Indonesia (always predominantly Bali) was just a hairsbreadth behind it. The three leading destination countries residents returned from were:

  • New Zealand (90,400 trips)
  • Indonesia (90,390)
  • The UK (55,020).

Meanwhile, in the financial year 2021-22 (June to June):

  • Short-term resident returns for all top five destination countries have risen due to the easing of international travel restrictions from November 2021
  • New Zealand (195,370 trips) was the leading destination country
  • The USA (169,710) was the second-most-popular destination
  • India (157,500) was the third-most-popular destination.

In financial year 2021-22, the most frequently stated main reason for journey by Australian residents returning home after a short-term trip was:

  • Visiting friends/relatives (48.2%)
  • Holiday (33.5%)
  • Business (8.1%).

 

Written by Peter Needham

 

 

 

 

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