Australia hits all-time high inbound visitor value to the UK

Flags of UK and Australia against the background of the blue sky
Edited by Travel Weekly


Following record-breaking inbound results in the first half of 2023, Australia has solidified itself for the first time across any quarter as Britain’s second most valuable source market for the July to September period.

According to the latest official visitor statistics from VisitBritain, visitors from Australia spent a record-breaking £668 million (around $1.3m AUD) on their trips to the UK across the third quarter (July – September 2023).

Overtaking Germany and sitting behind only the USA to become Britain’s second most valuable source market for this quarter, Australia’s visitor spending in Q3 2023 exceeded 2019 levels by 61 per cent and saw year-on-year growth of +43 per cent compared to Q3 2022.

Australia also broke quarter records for a number of visits, with Britain welcoming 455,000 Australian visitors between July to September 2023, up +41 per cent year on year and 8 per cent on Q3 2019 levels. Continuing its rise, the market has also moved up the ranks to seventh position by volume.

VisitBritain’s Country Manager for Australia and New Zealand, Maria Sykes said:

“We’re thrilled to see Australia deliver this unprecedented quarterly result, becoming Britain’s second most valuable source market for the first time across any quarter,” country manager (AU/NZ) VisitBritain, Maria Sykes, said.

“It is truly remarkable that Britain’s most distant friend delivered greater value than its close neighbours, France and Germany across this quarter.

“We look forward to continuing to build on this demand in 2024, working closely with our travel trade industry partners across Australia and New Zealand to inspire visitors to stay longer and discover more of Britain’s vibrant cities, contemporary culture and charming coast and countryside.

VisitBritain is expecting Australia to be worth almost £1.5 billion (around $2.9b AUD) to the UK economy in 2023, a growth of 25 per cent compared to 2019 in nominal terms. New Zealand is also expected to finish the 2023 year demonstrating a strong post-pandemic recovery, exceeding 2019 tourism spend in the UK by 84 per cent.

Both Australia and New Zealand are now on track to be fully recovered and exceed pre-pandemic levels for both inbound visits to the UK and tourism spending in 2023, based on VisitBritain’s latest forecasts.

 

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