Australian travellers have steered away from the United States, as Japan overtakes it as the third most popular country for Aussies to travel to.
The U.S. is now the fourth most popular destination, falling 25% lower than 10 years becoming the only country top 10 to fall below 2014-15 volumes according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
More restrictive U.S. trade and entry policies after U.S. President Donald Trump’s taking office in January this year could be dampening Australians’ want to visit the country.
In May, the Department of Foreign Affairs toughened travel advice three times in just over a month in response to Trump’s border control, despite not changing the country's overall rating from green.
This comes as China becomes the fifth most popular destination, despite SmartTraveller recommending holidaymakers “exercise a high degree of caution”.
After the downfall in American travel, Flight Centre reported a reduced profit forecast as a result of Australians travelling closer to home, despite 3 in 5 Australians holidaying overseas.
“This volatility temporarily disrupted traditional travel and booking patterns during Flight Centre’s peak trading period as some customers either booked closer-to-home overseas holidays (in Australia, examples include China, Japan, Fiji and New Zealand) or delayed finalising travel plans,” the company said.
Indonesia still retained its spot as the most popular destination, with 14% of Australians choosing the country for their holiday.
As for where visitors are coming from, New Zealand are the top source with 17% of visitors coming from across the Tasman Sea.
Visitors from India have increased by 102% in comparison to the 2014-15 financial year, with travellers from India also staying longer than 10 years ago, with the median stay for these visits doubling to 61 days.
The ABS data also showed that 43% of visitors to Australia were coming for a holiday.
Overall, total arrivals increased by 6.1% and departures increased by 2.9% since last year.
