How many Australians travel to New Zealand?
Australians took 1,504,750 trips to New Zealand in the 12 months to August 2026, making it the number 2 overseas destination for Australian travellers and 11.8% of all overseas trips.
New Zealand has more than recovered its Australian travellers, running at 104.2% of its 2018-19 level.
New Zealand 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 New Zealand over time
It has slipped 1 place since 2018-19, when it ranked 1.
When Australians go to New Zealand
Travel to New Zealand has a clear high season: January carries 12.3% of the year, noticeably above the 8.3% an even month would hold. June is the quietest.
See the monthly figures as a table
| Month | Share of the year |
|---|---|
| Jan | 12.3% |
| Feb | 6.9% |
| Mar | 8% |
| Apr | 8.5% |
| May | 6% |
| Jun | 5.8% |
| Jul | 9.2% |
| Aug | 8.4% |
| Sep | 8.4% |
| Oct | 8.7% |
| Nov | 8.8% |
| Dec | 8.9% |
Going to New Zealand?
The statistics say when everyone else is going. The New Zealand 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 New Zealand?
We will send you the New Zealand 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 New Zealand. Derived from Australian Bureau of Statistics, Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia. Retrieved from https://beforeyoufly.com.au/travel-statistics/new-zealand/
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New Zealand travel statistics FAQs
How many Australians travel to New Zealand each year?
1,504,750 trips were taken by Australian residents to New Zealand in the 12 months to August 2026, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures. That is 11.8% of all short-term overseas travel by Australians, ranking New Zealand number 2 among destinations. The count is of trips rather than individual people.
When is the busiest time for Australians to visit New Zealand?
January is the busiest month for Australian trips to New Zealand, carrying 12.3% of the year, while June 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 New Zealand than before the pandemic?
Yes. Australian trips to New Zealand are running at 104.2% of the 2018-19 figure, the last full financial year before the pandemic. It has slipped 1 place since 2018-19, when it ranked 1.
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.