UK Tourism in Australia - Statistics [2021]

Updated: 24 August 2021

How many British tourists visit Australia each year?

Over 5,900 visitors from the UK came to Australia between April 2020 and March 2021. Visitors from the UK were down 99.1% when compared to the over 637,000 visitors of the previous year.

How much did visitors from the UK spend in Australia in 2021?

Visitors from the UK spent over $92 million during visits to Australia between April 2020 and March 2021. Spending by British visitors was down 97.1% when compared to the over $3.1 billion spent during the previous year.

How many British tourists visited Australia in 2020?

An estimated 562,750 visitors from the UK travelled to Australia for the year ending June 2020
  • Visitors from the UK decreased by 21.6% when compared with the 718,600 of the previous year
  • The UK was the 4th highest source of visitors to Australia in 2019/20
  • The effects of the coronavirus travel restrictions are the main cause of this dramatic decrease
Data source: ABS. Image credit: Camper Champ

Impact of the Coronavirus on Brisith Tourist Expenditure

Visitors from the UK spent an estimated $2.6 billion during visits to Australia in the year ending June 2020
  • Spending was down 23.5% when compared with the $3.4 billion of the previous year
Data source: TRA. Image credit: Camper Champ

How many British tourists visited Australia in 2019?

718,600 British tourists visited Australia between July 2018 and June 2019, down 3.2% from 742,700 during 2017/18 1

British tourism through the years

  • British tourism peaked in 2006/07 with 745,500 visitors.
    • This could be attributed to both the Ashes cricket series and Commonwealth Bank cricket series being held in Australia that year.
  • After 2006/07, British tourism saw a decline and only started to improve in 2011/12.
  • Despite nearly reaching the peak again in 2017/18, British tourism fell again this year.
British visitors to Australia between 1990 and 2019.
Data source: ABS. Image credit: Camper Champ, UK

The UK's share in the Australian tourism industry

  • The UK accounted for 7.9% of all visitors to Australia in 2018/19.2
  • The UK currently ranks 4th for the top visitors to Australia.

Top countries that sent visitors to Australia in 2019

Data source: ABS. Image credit: Camper Champ

Reasons British tourists visit Australia

  • Visiting friends/relatives is cited as the most common reason British tourists visit Australia.
  • Holidays are also a popular reason for British tourists to visit.
Data Source: TRA. Image credit: Camper Champ, UK

The UK's contribution to tourism expenditure in Australia

  • At an estimated $3.4B in 2018/19, the UK accounted for 7.6% of all expenditure from international tourists, ranking 3rd for Australia.
  • Ahead of the UK were China and the USA.
Australian tourism top spenders in 2019 by country.
Data source: TRA. Image credit: Camper Champ

Top British Travel Trends in 2019

What do British tourists spend on in Australia?

  • British tourists spent $94 per day in 2018/19, ranking 5th on the list of top spenders.
  • Food, drink and accommodation were the most popular items at $49 per day.
  • Spending on shopping and education were comparatively low.
Australian visitor spends per day in 2019 (by country)
Data source: TRA. Image credit: Camper Champ

The UK's travel patterns and Australia's share

  • An estimated 76% of UK citizens hold a passport.3
  • The UK’s top travel destinations in 2018 were Spain, France and Italy.4
  • All of the top 10 destinations were European countries, suggesting British tourists prefer locations closer to home.
  • Despite attracting 718,600 visitors, Australia is still low on the list, not yet making it into the UK’s top 10.

Travel Statistics Resources

References

  1. ABS: Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia, August 2019 ↩
  2. TRA: International Visitor Survey, 2019 ↩
  3. ONS: Country of Birth and Nationality, 2011 Census ↩
  4. Finder: UK Outbound Travel Statistics, October 2019 ↩