Australian visitation to the United States is expected to surpass COVID levels early in 2025.
That was the key message from a half-year briefing staged by VisitUSA in Sydney last night.
Just under a million Australians travelled to the States in 2023, down on the 1.3million of us who went there in 2019 pre-pandemic.
Statistics released at the event predicted 2024 levels to reach 1.1m with 2025 figures tipped to be 1.35m.
“This is an opportunity for us to review travel data, look at current trends and chart a path for the next six months and beyond,” said Caroline Davidson, President of VisitUSA.
Key findings revealed on the night:
# Australia is the 10th largest inbound market for America
# 954,000 Aussies visited the U.S. in 2023 (a 48.7% increase on 2022 with a 23.7% increase predicted for 2024)
# More than 90% were there for leisure travel
# 80% were repeat travellers
# We stayed an average of 17 nights and spent an average of $US2,572
# 30% rent a car when visiting the States,
California remained the top state visited by Australians, followed by Hawaii, New York, Nevada and Florida. Top cities were Los Angeles, New York, Honolulu, San Francisco and Las Vegas.
Sightseeing (90%) and shopping (88.8%) were the top two drawcards for Aussies while the 45-54 age group topped the visitation charts.
“We all share the goal of increasing travel to the U.S. and we know that we are stronger when we work together,” added Ms Davidson.
