CANBERRA, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Australia recorded 710,980 short-term visitor arrivals in July 2026, down 4.3 percent from the same month a year earlier, official data showed on Friday.
The number of short-term visitor arrivals was 10 percent lower than the pre-COVID level recorded in July 2019, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
New Zealand was the largest source of visitors, accounting for 18.9 percent of all short-term visitor arrivals, followed by China and the United States, the ABS said.
The state of New South Wales recorded the highest number of short-term visitor arrivals among Australia's states and territories, with 247,410 trips, while the island state of Tasmania recorded the fewest, at 4,320, statistics showed.
Meanwhile, more than 1.25 million short-term resident return trips were recorded in July, an increase of 3.8 percent from a year earlier and 11.4 percent above the July 2019 level, the department said.
Indonesia was the most popular destination for Australian residents returning from short-term overseas trips, accounting for 15.1 percent of all returns, followed by New Zealand and the United Kingdom, it said. ■