Sydney Opera House Tourism Statistics

The Sydney Opera House is one of the best-known landmarks in Sydney and Australia. More than 10.9 million people visit it every year¹. In 2024-25, 1.44 million attended a performance and 457,525 took a paid tour, still 18% fewer than before COVID-19².

At a Glance

• About 10.9 million people visit the Sydney Opera House precinct in a normal year³.
• 1.44 million people attended a performance in 2024-25, up from 1.36 million in 2023-24².
• 457,525 people took a paid tour in 2024-25, 20% more than in 2023-24 but still 18% below 2018-19².
• The Opera House staged 1,832 performances in 2024-25², the most since 2018-19.
• It earned $142.9 million from its general operations in 2024-25².
• Visitors spent 45.2 million guest nights in City of Sydney commercial accommodation in 2024-25, the highest in 10 years⁴.
• Overall visitor satisfaction reached 97% in 2024-25².
• A one-hour guided tour costs A$50 for adults when booked ahead⁵.

About 10.9 million people visit the Sydney Opera House precinct in a normal year³.

• Performance attendance reached 1.44 million in 2024-25², up from 1.36 million in 2023-24⁶ and almost 1.3 million in 2022-23⁷.
• 457,525 people took a paid tour in 2024-25, a 20% increase on 2023-24 but still 18% below 2018-19².
• 2020-21 was the low point: 285,000 people attended performances and about 9,000 took a tour, after a seven-month closure³.

Where do visitors to the Sydney Opera House come from?

• International visitors make up most tour patrons: 80% in 2023-24⁶, the latest year the Opera House has reported this share.
• Western markets are recovering fastest. In 2024-25, tour numbers from the US reached 96% of 2018-19 levels, and from the UK and broader Europe 83%².
• Visitors from China and Japan have been the slowest to return. The Opera House does not expect international tourism to fully recover to pre-COVID levels until 2027².
• Across Australia, international visitor arrivals reached 8.4 million in 2024-25, 90% of the 2018-19 level. Arrivals from China were at 68%, while India (121%) and South Korea (133%) were above 2018-19 levels².

Many people come to the Sydney Opera House for a show, a tour or a meal by the harbour. In 2024-25, its restaurants and bars recorded 2.3 million food and beverage transactions².

• Resident companies: 752,000 people attended performances by the eight resident companies, such as Opera Australia and Bangarra Dance Theatre².
• Commercial and community hirers: 286,000 people came for a mix of music, dance, talks, comedy and cultural celebrations².
• Children and families: 73,000 people attended performances for children, families and creative learning².
• Badu Gili: 68,400 people watched the Badu Gili lighting of the sails².
• First-time visitors: 45% of tickets to the Opera House's own year-round program were sold to first-time attendees².

• The main guided tours last around one hour⁵.
• Shorter 30-minute tours run in Japanese, Korean and Mandarin, the Architectural Tour takes 75 minutes, and the Backstage Tour is a two-hour visit that ends with breakfast in the Green Room².

The pandemic hit visitor numbers hard:

• Performance attendance fell from almost 1.4 million in 2018-19¹² to just over 1 million in 2019-20¹³, and to 285,000 in 2020-21³.
• Paid tours fell from more than 564,000 in 2018-19¹² to 381,000 in 2019-20¹³ and about 9,000 in 2020-21³.
• Tour revenue dropped from $11.3 million in 2019-20¹³ to $0.3 million in 2020-21, with no international tourists for the whole year³.

Sydney Opera House visitors and revenue in 2018-19

• The Opera House attracted more than 10 million visitors in 2018-19. Almost 1.4 million people attended performances and more than 564,000 took a paid tour¹².
• It earned $116.9 million of its own revenue in 2018-19, including $15.8 million from tours¹².

Live Nation's On the Steps concerts drew 63,500 people to 13 Forecourt shows in December 2024, including four sold-out Crowded House shows².

• Vivid LIVE: the 2025 edition sold more than 36,000 tickets, 89% of capacity².
• DanceRites: 16,000 people watched the First Nations dance competition on the Forecourt in October 2024².
• In the Heights: more than 18,500 tickets were sold to 43 performances of the musical in the Drama Theatre in July and August 2024².
• Contemporary performance: the program drew more than 125,000 paid attendees across circus, cabaret, dance, theatre, comedy and musical theatre².

• The Opera House says it is the most visited tourism destination in Australia².
• UNESCO listed the Opera House as a World Heritage site in 2007.¹
• It was ranked Tripadvisor's #1 landmark in Australia and the South Pacific in 2017¹⁵, and the third-best attraction in Australia in the 2025 Travellers' Choice awards¹⁶.
• It is also one of the world’s busiest performing arts centres.²
• Visitors rate it highly: overall satisfaction reached 97% in 2024-25, and its net promoter score rose to +81².

• The one-hour Sydney Opera House Tour costs A$50 for adults, A$30 for children aged 5 to 15 and A$40 for concessions when booked ahead (A$55, A$35 and A$45 on the day). Children under 5 go free. Concessions apply to Australian Seniors Card holders, Australian Pensioners and full-time students aged 16 and over. A family ticket for 2 adults and 2 children costs A$130 pre-booked (A$145 on the day)⁵.
• Prices rise from 1 April 2027: adults A$52, children A$32, concessions A$42 and families A$136 when pre-booked⁵.