February 8, 2010 Embargoed 11.30am (Canberra Time) 12/2010
The total number of international arrivals and departures reached a record high last year, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

There were 12.4 million overseas arrivals and 12.3 million departures in 2009, making a record of 24.7 million international movements across Australia's borders. This is an increase in overseas movements of nearly 60% since 1999.

Short-term movements

In 2009, short-term movements accounted for 96% of the total 24.7 million movements. Short-term movements are travellers who have an intended stay in, or absence from Australia of less than one year.

For the second time in just over 20 years, short-term resident departures exceeded short-term visitor arrivals. In 2008, resident departures were higher than visitor arrivals by over 200,000; in 2009 this had increased to over 700,000.

Short-term visitors arriving in Australia remained steady at 5.6 million. New Zealand, the UK, and the USA were the three top source countries, accounting for 40% of all short-term visitor arrivals. The main age group was for those aged 25-29 years for both men and women.

A record 6.3 million residents made short-term departures from Australia in 2009, up from 5.8 million in 2008. New Zealand, the USA and Indonesia were the top three destinations and accounted for just over one-third of all short-term resident departures. The main age groups were 45-49 years for men and 25-29 years for women.

For more information see Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia, December 2009 (cat. no. 3401.0) available for free from the ABS web site <www.abs.gov.au>.

Media Note: Figures in this Media Release are based on original series. Please ensure when reporting on ABS data that you attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.