This is the first time since the Australian Bureau of Statistics started keeping travel records that another destination has claimed the top spot.
“New Zealand has been the leading destination annually since our records began nearly 50 years ago,” Jenny Dobak, head of migration statistics said.
According to the ABS data, around 1.37 million Australians traveled to Indonesia in 2023, while 1.26 million traveled to New Zealand.
While the majority of Australians traveled to Indonesia for a holiday, the reasons for traveling to New Zealand were almost fairly divided between a holiday and visiting friends and relatives.
Dobak also said that more Australians are traveling overseas than international visitors coming to Australia.
“Last year, nearly 10 million Australians returned from a short-term trip overseas [while] we have just over 7 million international visitors arriving for a short-term trip in 2023.”
A short-term trip includes any stay shorter than a 12 month period.
Most visitors in 2023 arrived from New Zealand (1.27 million), followed by the USA (0.66 million) and the UK (0.60 million).