Indonesia becomes top destination for Australian travelers

By VNA February 18, 2024 | 04:45 pm PT

Tourists walk on a beach in Badung, Bali, Indonesia, Sept. 9, 2021. Photo by Reuters

Indonesia has for the first time replaced New Zealand as the top destination for short-term trips overseas by Australians last year.

According to a recent media release by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), around 1.37 million Australians traveled to Indonesia in 2023, while 1.26 million visited New Zealand.

For Australians traveling to Indonesia, 86% were going for a holiday and 7% to visit friends or relatives. It was different for those going to New Zealand, with the respective figures being 43% and 38%.

New Zealand had consistently been the most popular destination since the ABS started recording tourism data nearly 50 years ago, with Indonesia overtaking the U.S. as the runner-up since early 2014.

Australian tourists to both countries reached its peak in 2019 before sharply declining during the Covid-19 pandemic.