International travel to and from Australia for the last month is now at the same number it was in the seventies.
In April of 1976 when the concept of international air travel was still relatively new to the average citizen around 100,000 people arrived in Australia, and just a little more than that left.
In the 43 years following, Australia’s population doubled, and overseas travel became a much more common occurrence, with over 3 million arrivals and departures in April 2019.
When the international travel band was announced in March last year to prevent the spread of COVID-19, overseas travel grinded to an unprecedented halt and arrivals and departures plummeted by 98 percent.
In 2019 an average of 3.5 million people were leaving and arriving in Australia every month. In the year following the travel ban international departures and arrivals got as low as 30,000 and 14,000 thousand respectively.
Between April and May this year there was a rise. International travel doubled to around 200,000 departures and arrivals, with the biggest increase being due to short-term residents in Australia leaving the country. This has brought international travel in Australia back to the same level it was at in the seventies.
In the last 40 years, international travel has become a huge part of life for many Australians, and in 2019 tourism had grown to account for three percent of the national GDP.
With most of Australia still in lockdown, we are a long way from a casual stint abroad, but there are some glimmers of hope on the horizon.
Scott Morrison revealed in the national COVID-19 recovery roadmap that when the Australian population is 80 percent vaccinated people will be allowed to travel overseas.
The roadmap however, only mentions leaving Australia and says nothing about what restrictions will be in place for people wanting to return.
Internationally, some places with higher vaccination rates are starting to open back up to tourism.
Currently, Australians would be accepted into 10 countries with no restrictions at all, and 146 countries with restrictions that range from a negative test before arrival, or two-weeks quarantine upon arrival.
Let’s hope next year sees a return to the 45-year trend of popularity growth for international travel, and we can get back to sharing experiences and culture with our friends from around the world.
The data in this story was sourced from the ABS.
