Australia is hosting millions of international tourists as the nation enjoys a travel renaissance after COVID-19, with visitors from the US, UK and New Zealand flocking here in the past two months.

The number of short-term visitors rose 131 per cent annually in April – an increase of about 310,000 people, Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures published on Wednesday revealed.

About 1.15 million short-term border crossings have been recorded in the past two months, sparking a new gold rush among big airlines and breathing life into hard-hit regional economies.

The rebound has been so huge that the tourism sector is expected to help Australia avoid a recession this year amid headwinds from interest rate hikes and the cost-of-living crisis.

Where tourists are from

New Zealand, as usual, is topping the list for country of origin, with more than 33,000 arrivals in April.

About 21,000 visitors from the United States and 16,000 from the UK were also recorded.

That’s a stark contrast with April last year, when just 32,000 visitors arrived from all three of those nations combined.

The tourism renaissance is still in its early stages though, with the ABS noting on Wednesday that arrivals are still far lower than they were before global borders shut down during COVID.

“The number of trips for April 2023 was 25.1 per cent lower than pre-COVID levels in April 2019,” it said, of arrivals to Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales.

In fact, Australia is still far behind the 1.8 million arrivals booked back in April 2019.

The total figure is now closer to 1.3 million a month – down 38 per cent on pre-COVID levels.

The number of tourists from South America and South Asia has, however, risen above 2019, signalling Australia is opening itself up to new markets since the pandemic years.

Where tourists are going

Australia’s three largest states are benefitting most from the tourism recovery, though the Northern Territory and Tasmania have also seen the number of visitors skyrocket.

NSW recorded 200,230 arrivals in April, up a staggering 143.3 per cent.

Victoria, meanwhile, saw visitors rise to 144,420 – a 130 per cent annual increase.

Queensland posted 105,730 visitors, which is about 135 per cent higher than April 2022.

It’s important to note, however, that all these figures are still below levels seen before COVID, meaning Australia’s huge tourism industry still hasn’t recovered to its former glory just yet.

International students

Tourism isn’t the only industry benefitting from the surge in arrivals to Australia over early 2023.

Universities are experiencing a surge in international students, who are returning in huge numbers this year.

Student arrivals almost doubled in annual terms in April, with more than 40,000 coming.

That’s 96.3 per cent of pre-COVID levels, the ABS said.

Universities are the most popular destination for international students, though many are also attending TAFE.

The rise in student numbers will be vital in helping the nation avoid a downturn in 2023, particularly because household spending is falling in per capita (population adjusted) terms.

The $25.5 billion they spend on education in Australia each year is just the start, with each arrival also finding employment and spending their incomes in the local economy, creating billions in flow-on benefits.

It’s part of the reason why businesses are still reporting positive growth in early 2023, despite per capita spending growth flat-lining during May.