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.

Sydney Airport welcomes highest international traffic on record

Sydney Airport has delivered its highest quarterly international traffic on record with 4.32 million international passengers passing through the terminals in Q1 2025.

The international results were a 3.9 per cent increase on the same period in 2024.

Travel by South Korean, Indian and Philippine passport holders was above 2024 levels.

Overall, 10.4 million passengers passed through the airport in Q1 2025, delivering a 0.8 per cent increase on Q1 2024.

Sydney Airport CEO Scott Charlton said the positive start to the year sets the airport up for growth in 2025.

“We’ve delivered a strong start to the year, with quarterly international passenger numbers delivering our highest quarterly international traffic on record, underscoring the continued strength of global travel demand,” he said.

"This momentum is further bolstered by key developments, including the announcement of Hong Kong Airlines which will begin flying in June and Turkish Airlines expanding to daily services starting December.

“That momentum is being matched on the ground by some of the most significant upgrades the airport has seen, from enhanced security screening at T1 International, to a major transformation of the T2 Domestic experience, and an exciting refresh of the food and beverage offering at T3 Domestic. These projects will deliver tangible improvements for our passengers.

"As we look forward, our focus remains on building on this momentum and maintaining effective operational performance. The positive start to the year, combined with our ongoing investments in infrastructure and passenger experience, sets us up for sustained growth.”