How many Australians travel to China?
Australians took 750,870 trips to China in the 12 months to August 2026, making it the number 4 overseas destination for Australian travellers and 5.9% of all overseas trips.
China has more than recovered its Australian travellers, running at 122.9% of its 2018-19 level.
China at a glance
Counts trips, not people: someone who goes twice is counted twice. Each trip is attributed to the one country the traveller nominated as its main destination, so a stopover on the way somewhere else is not counted separately. Trips are recorded as travellers arrive home, which puts a Christmas holiday in the January figures.
Australian trips to China over time
It has climbed 1 place since 2018-19, when it ranked 5.
When Australians go to China
China has one of the most concentrated years of any destination Australians visit: 13.6% of the whole year's trips land in January alone, against the 8.3% an evenly spread month would carry. Booking into that peak costs more, and the cheaper insurance and connectivity options go first.
See the monthly figures as a table
| Month | Share of the year |
|---|---|
| Jan | 13.6% |
| Feb | 7.5% |
| Mar | 6.4% |
| Apr | 10.8% |
| May | 8.3% |
| Jun | 7.5% |
| Jul | 8.3% |
| Aug | 5.3% |
| Sep | 6.9% |
| Oct | 10.5% |
| Nov | 8.3% |
| Dec | 6.5% |
Going to China?
The statistics say when everyone else is going. The China guide covers what you need before you fly: visa and entry requirements for Australian passport holders, and comparisons for eSIMs, travel insurance and travel money.
Planning China?
We will send you the China guide as it grows - what to book before you go, which eSIM and travel card are worth it there, and what things actually cost in Australian dollars.
Use this data
Free to reuse, including commercially, with attribution. The underlying counts are the ABS's under a CC BY 4.0 licence; the derived figures on this page - share, recovery, rank movement and seasonality - are ours, offered on the same terms.
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Cite this page
Before You Fly (2026). Australian travel to China. Derived from Australian Bureau of Statistics, Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia. Retrieved from https://beforeyoufly.com.au/travel-statistics/china/
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China travel statistics FAQs
How many Australians travel to China each year?
750,870 trips were taken by Australian residents to China in the 12 months to August 2026, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures. That is 5.9% of all short-term overseas travel by Australians, ranking China number 4 among destinations. The count is of trips rather than individual people.
When is the busiest time for Australians to visit China?
January is the busiest month for Australian trips to China, carrying 13.6% of the year, while August is the quietest. Because the ABS counts trips as travellers arrive home, departures cluster slightly earlier than the peak month suggests.
Are more Australians visiting China than before the pandemic?
Yes. Australian trips to China are running at 122.9% of the 2018-19 figure, the last full financial year before the pandemic. It has climbed 1 place since 2018-19, when it ranked 5.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Overseas Arrivals and Departures, short-term resident returns by country of main destination. Used under a CC BY 4.0 licence. Refreshed 20 October 2026, covering data to August 2026. All Australian travel statistics.