AMERICAN tourists to Australia have been dropping off throughout the year, new figures from the ABS has showed.
The trend is in line with several American surveys that suggest many of its citizens are pivoting to domestic or short-haul trips during the volatile economic climate under President Trump.
May recorded the lowest number of US visitors for the year at 42,360, falling away on the close-to 50,000 posted in Apr, and a far cry from the 83,000 American visitors in Mar.
A recent poll conducted by The Washington Times showed 56% of Americans plan on travelling less this year, with high inflation, cost-of-living pressures, and perceived anti-Amercian sentiment cited as reasons.
MEANWHILE there were close to 70,000 Chinese visitors entering Australia in May, representing a roughly 15,000 increase on the same month last year, ABS figures also showed.
While the number is still well short of where Chinese visitation was prior to the pandemic – when China was Australia’s number one tourist market – it continues a steady growth trajectory in 2025.
After a bumper start to the year in Jan and Feb of close to 250,000 trips, visitation has hovered around the 70,000 mark for the next three months to May.
To further cajole Chinese tourism, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was in China this week on a charm offensive, while there announcing a major deal with Trip.com to sell travel packages to Australia via the online travel agency (TD 14 Jul).
Further insights showed Kiwis again dominated the top spot in May, with 118,000 visits. AB
