China departures growing

AUSTRALIANS visiting China are up 17.4% from a year ago, according to the Sep 2017 figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Short-term visitor arrivals into Australia were 663,500 in Sep 2017, the figure was 2.55% higher from the same period last year, where 647,000 entered Australia.

Australians departing the country for short-term trips remained largely unchanged from Sep 2016, with 1.0809 million in Sep, compared to 1.0088 million over the corresponding period.

Arrivals from New Zealand dropped from 133,600 in Sep 2016 to 123,800 visitors in Sep.

The New Zealand figure was still higher than the 115,800 Kiwis who visited Australia in Aug 2016.

Chinese tourists are continuing to enter Australia in droves with 97,300 arrivals in Sep, a 12.74% increase from 86,300 travellers in the same period last year.

The weakening British pound has seen a 5.5% drop in arrivals from the United Kingdom from 43,600 last year to 41,200 in Sep.

Australians have backed off travel to the United States with a 19.74% drop in short-term trips to 98,800 from 123,100 over the previous Sep period.

Australians returning from short-term stays in New Zealand rose from 95,200 in Sep 2016 to 101,600 this year.

Residents returning from the United Kingdom, rose 5.5% to 74,600, compared to 70,700 in the same period last year.