Japan is on the cusp of a major milestone, with Australian visitor numbers reaching 990,950 in the year to July 2026, just shy of the one million mark. The result comes as Australians took a record 12.76 million overseas trips over the same period, new ATIA Travel Trends data shows.
Outbound travel grew 3.5% for the year, while international visitor arrivals reached 9.07 million, up 6.9%. Vietnam was the fastest-growing destination overall, Indonesia remains the most popular, and New Zealand remains Australia’s largest visitor market.
The findings come from the ATIA September 2026 Travel Trends Report, based on ABS and Department of Infrastructure data analysed by ATIA. Reporting periods: overseas arrivals and departures to July 2026; international airline market share to May 2026; domestic airline capacity for June 2026.
Japan nears a new high
Japan is on track to become the next market to cross the one million mark, following in New Zealand’s footsteps. Australian visitor numbers there climbed 8.5% for the year to July, edging closer to the milestone with each new month of data.
Vietnam and China power an outbound boom
Vietnam was the fastest-growing destination for Australian travellers this year, up 15.9% to 577,880 visitors. China wasn’t far behind:
Indonesia and New Zealand hold their place as favourites
Indonesia remains the destination Australians visit most, with 1.79 million trips in the year to July. New Zealand remains Australia’s largest visitor market, with 1.43 million arrivals over the same period, as Hong Kong (up 9.2%) also climbed the inbound rankings.
More Australians flying than ever
Airlines flew fuller planes than ever on Australia’s busiest domestic corridors, with load factors climbing on nine of the ten busiest routes. Melbourne-Sydney and Adelaide-Melbourne led the way, both up 6 percentage points to 85% full.
Qantas and Jetstar now carry one in three international passengers travelling to and from Australia, up from a combined 30.6% a year earlier, while Malaysia Airlines was the biggest mover, climbing from 2.4% to 3.9% market share.
Travellers can find an ATIA-accredited travel agent or tour operator at traveltick.com.au.
QUOTES ATTRIBUTABLE TO DEAN LONG, CEO, ATIA
“Japan is knocking on the door of one million Australian visitors a year, and that’s a huge milestone for what has become one of our most popular destinations. We wouldn’t be surprised to see it cross the line in our next report.”
“Vietnam and China are where the growth is right now, and we expect airlines to keep adding capacity to the region to keep pace with that demand.”
“Indonesia and New Zealand remain the two markets our members know best, and it’s fantastic to see them holding firm as the growth story in Asia keeps building around them. Our accredited agents and tour operators are working hard every day to keep that momentum going in both directions.”
