December was the busiest month for short-term visitors arriving in Australia in 2025, with 11.6% of the year's arrivals, and May the quietest, with 6.8%. November and December together accounted for 20.9%. These figures count arrivals, not how long visitors stayed.
Australia, month by month
- Two busiest months
- Other months
When is Australia busiest with international visitors, and when is it quietest?
December had the most short-term visitor arrivals in 2025, with 11.6% of the year's total. May had the fewest, with 6.8%. That makes December 1.7 times as busy as May.1
Seven months each had less than an average month's share of 8.3%: January, April, May, June, July, September and October.
Where do Australia's international visitors come from?
The largest group came from New Zealand, with 16.1% of short-term visitor arrivals to Australia in 2025, followed by China (11.6%) and the United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man (8.5%).3
| Country of residence | Share |
|---|---|
| New Zealand | 16.1% |
| China | 11.6% |
| United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man | 8.5% |
| United States | 8.3% |
| India | 5.1% |
Shares are of short-term visitor arrivals to Australia in 2025.
What exactly is counted?
The Australian Bureau of Statistics counts short-term visitor arrivals: overseas visitors who intend to stay in Australia for less than 12 months. It counts trips, not people, so someone who arrives twice is counted twice. The figures are rounded to the nearest 10.2
Other countries count arrivals differently, which is why we do not rank Australia against the others on the overview page.
June or September? May or October?
June was quieter than September, at 7.0% against 7.8%.
May was quieter than October, at 6.8% against 8.3%.
These compare months at similar distances from the middle of the year. They say nothing about weather, which we have not measured.
What these figures cannot tell you
Arrivals are not crowds. A month with many arrivals can still feel quiet if visitors stay briefly or spread out, and a national total cannot show how busy one city, park or beach is.
They say nothing about length of stay, weather or prices. This page has no weather or price data.
They are one year. These are 2025 figures, and patterns shift from year to year.
The full year
| Month | Share of year | Arrivals |
|---|---|---|
| January | 7.9% | 710,040 |
| February | 8.8% | 787,770 |
| March | 8.5% | 761,230 |
| April | 7.2% | 641,150 |
| May | 6.8% | 611,180 |
| June | 7.0% | 624,510 |
| July | 8.3% | 743,210 |
| August | 8.4% | 753,320 |
| September | 7.8% | 696,500 |
| October | 8.3% | 740,650 |
| November (one of the two busiest months) | 9.3% | 831,170 |
| December (one of the two busiest months) | 11.6% | 1,036,660 |
Total for 2025: 8,937,390 short-term visitor arrivals. The two busiest months are marked.
Key takeaways
- May was the quietest month for short-term visitors arriving in Australia in 2025, with 6.8% of the year's arrivals.
- November and December were the busiest, with 20.9% between them.
- June was quieter than September, at 7.0% against 7.8%.
- What we would skip: comparing these percentages with another country's. Each country counts arrivals its own way.
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, a government statistics body. We downloaded the monthly figures and calculated the shares and comparisons ourselves. See how we research.
- Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia, July 2026 release, table 1 (short-term visitors arriving, original series), January–December 2025. Read it. Accessed 22 September 2026. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Australian Bureau of Statistics, Overseas Arrivals and Departures methodology, glossary and rounding note. Read it. Checked 22 September 2026.
- Australian Bureau of Statistics, Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia, July 2026 release, table 5 (short-term visitors arriving, selected countries of residence), January–December 2025. Read it. Accessed 22 September 2026. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Changes we made. The monthly shares, rankings of months and comparisons are our own calculations from the published counts. Percentages are rounded to one decimal place, so they may not add exactly.