Australians Are Traveling To The United States In Record Numbers!
Australia continues to set new arrival records, reaching a total of 720,000 visitors in 2009, up five percent from 2008.
Australians are traveling to the United States in record numbers. As the eighth-largest market for overseas visitors, Australia provides an important source of visitors for the U.S.-inbound tourism market. Australia is one of only two top-ten markets to register visitor growth in 2009. Factors fueling demand for travel to the United States include increased air capacity (Delta Air Lines and V Australia commenced trans-Pacific flights in 2009), extremely competitive airfares, and a strong Australian Dollar against the U.S. Dollar. The latest arrival statistics indicate that Australian travel to the United States is robust and the Australian market continues to be an important source of overseas visitors.
- Between January-August 2010 Australian arrivals increased 26% compared to the same period in 2009.
- The U.S. Department of Commerce forecasts that the largest increases in visitor volume to the United States this year will be from: China (40%), Brazil (35%), Korea (35%), Hong Kong (27%), New Zealand (24%), and Australia (19%).
- The forecast for 2011 is that Australian travelers to the United States will increase 12 percent.
- Australian travelers to the United States are characterized by long stays (average of 24 nights) and high spending.
- The most popular months for Australians to travel to the United States are September-October, December, and May-July.
- 85% of Australian travelers to the United States are leisure travelers and most are FIT (Independent) travelers.
- Australians travel throughout the United States visiting the west coast, the east coast, and the numerous destinations in-between. The most popular states visited are New York and California.
- The most popular activities for Australian travelers visiting the United States include: dining in restaurants, shopping, sightseeing in cities, attending concerts/plays/musicals, taking guided tours, and visiting historical places, art galleries, museums, small towns, amusement/theme parks, and cultural heritage sites.
