The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows visitor arrivals to NSW from the United Kingdom, South Korea, India and Indonesia surpassed 2019 levels in March 2025.

Visitors from the United Kingdom rose to 27,870, up from 25,390 in March 2019. South Korean visitors rose to 20,790, up from 17,680. There were 12,520 Indian visitors, up from 10,680. Visitors from Indonesia rose from 5410 to 8320 during the period.

There were 761,230 short-term visitor arrivals to Australia in March 2025, an increase of 190 arrivals on one year earlier. The number of trips was nine per cent lower than March 2019.

New Zealand was the largest source country for Australian arrivals, accounting for 14 per cent of all visitor arrivals. The top three visitor markets were New Zealand (104,570 trips), United States (83,460) and the United Kingdom (74,520).

In March 2025 there were 54,660 international student arrivals to Australia, an increase of 10,080 students compared with the corresponding month of the previous year.

The number of student arrivals in March 2025 was 24.2 per cent lower than March 2019.

Surging American visitation for NSW

NSW welcomed 286,400 short-term visitor arrivals in March 2025, an increase of 4100 compared with the corresponding month of the previous year.

The number of trips to NSW in March 2025 was 8.8 per cent lower than March 2019.

The three leading source countries for NSW were the United States (44,320 trips), China (29,700) and New Zealand (29,340).

Tourism Research Australia data shows there were 451,700 visitors from the United States to NSW in 2024, up 5.9 per cent year on year.

These visitors stayed 4.9 million nights, up 26.5 per cent on the previous year, and spent $842.2 million during their trips.

There were 3392 flights from the United States to Sydney in 2024, up 2.9 per cent year on year.