Australia

The International Passenger Survey (IPS) was suspended on 16 March 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic until the start of 2021. The ONS have made every effort to produce high-quality estimates for the periods when IPS data is not being collected but have not been able to produce a full set of results. See the 2020 inbound page for more information. Data for 2021 and 2022 was also impacted by COVID-19, more information can be found on the About IPS page.

Due to the above, the latest full year IPS data below is from 2019. You can access data detailed data from 2020 onwards on the latest annual page.

Visitor characteristics

62% of holiday visitors (excluding British expats) are making a repeat trip to Britain (within ten years)
17% of visits from Australia were made by British nationals in 2019
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

Dining in a restaurant

Visited a Pub

Went Shopping

Global context


Measure	2019
International tourism expenditure (US$bn)	36.0
Global rank for international tourism expenditure	7
Number of outbound visits (m)	17.9
Most visited destination	New Zealand
Most visited destination in Western Europe	UK

Key demographic and economic data


Measure	2021
Population (m)	25.8
GDP per capita PPP (US$)	48,728
Annual average GDP growth over past decade (%)	2.3
Annual GDP growth (%)	4.7

Australia Market Profile (PDF, 7.6MB)

Australia Market Snapshot (PDF, 1.54MB)

Australia Aviation Profile (PDF, 1.09MB)

Australia COVID-19 Travel Sentiment (PDF, 482KB, Published April 2022)

Find out where visitors from Australia to the UK reside in their own country (Excel, 176KB, Published 2019)

Learn more about one of our priority segments in Australia

Australian Buzzseekers are experienced travellers looking for rewarding holidays whilst exploring the world. A new report investigates in more details their attitudes towards and image of Britain, and their behaviours when planning and booking long- haul holidays. Published in March 2019 (PDF, 1.2 MB)

Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.8622 AUD

As of 6 June 2023

Retrieved from the Bank of England

Inbound visits to Britain from Australia

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OVERVIEW OF UK VISITOR STATISTICS {{activeYear.name}}

Number of visits

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Total expenditure (GBP)

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Total nights spent

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Average length of stay (Nights)

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Average spend per visit (GBP)

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What Australians think about Britain

Australians still hold an upbeat opinion of Britain. For instance, they ranked Britain third overall compared to 60 other nations in the 2021 Anholt Nation Brands Index, gaining one place compared to 2020
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'
Top holiday 'wants' include 'good value for money' and 'having fun and laughter' - the US is the destination seen as best place to deliver on both these needs
Britain is seen as the 'best place' for factors such as 'exploring the place' (third top holiday 'wants' for the Australians) and 'visiting a place with lots of history' but scores poorly in relation to 'food and drink' and 'experiencing things that are new to me'

Caring for visitors

Meeting the locals is a key part of an Australian’s holiday: Australians love to chat with the locals and find out about the history of the area, recommended pubs and markets and find out about local stories
All types of accommodation appeal to the Australian market
British pubs provide a unique experience, not really 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 & travel trade

The Australian travel market is dominated by only a couple of vertically integrated companies, but consortia of independent travel agencies have gained in importance in the last few years
Australian consumers continue to display a high usage of bricks and mortar retail agencies for purchasing long-haul travel
Australians tend to book a long time in advance, mostly flexible packages, or semi-packaged holidays
Travel agents have opportunities to sell them additional products during the period leading up to their trip

Access to Britain from Australia


Measure	2019
Weekly departing seats on Perth to London Heathrow flight	1,657
Weekly departing seats to gateway cities which have routes to the UK	348,866
Main gateway hubs en-route from Australia to the UK	Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, Middle East, Africa, Americas
Countries with connecting flights to the UK from Australia	21

Australia has a highly complex aviation market. With extensive outbound seat capacity, Australian travellers have a diverse range of affordable options for travelling to the UK, with connecting flights via aviation hubs in Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas to cities across the UK, including three London airports, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Cardiff.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a 74% reduction in direct seat capacity from Australia to the UK in 2020, and similarly, 2021 was 75% behind.
Departing visitors from Australia travelling home by air are charged £84 in Air Passenger Duty if travelling in economy class

Markets

Australia