Australia records largest drop in visitor arrivals due to pandemic

Sydney Opera House is backdropped by haze from wildfires near the city, in Sydney, Australia, Tuesday Nov. 12, 2019. /AP

Australia has recorded the largest drop in international arrivals in its history as a result of COVID-19.

According to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Tuesday, the number of people who arrived in Australia for a short-term trip in March was down 60 percent compared to March 2019.

"In March 2020, there were 331,900 visitors who had arrived for a short-term trip compared to 836,300 12 months earlier," Jenny Dobak, the ABS Director of Migration Statistics, said in a media release.

The decline in visitors from Asia has been particularly large, with only 27,900 visitors arriving from China compared to more than 120,000 in March 2019.

"The steep fall in visitor arrivals to Australia in March was from all regions around the world. Even our largest source country New Zealand, recorded a 56 percent drop," Dobak said.

"Of the top 10 source countries, China recorded the largest decrease of 78 percent followed closely by Japan with a decrease of 75 percent."

The Northern Territory (NT) experienced the steepest decline in international visitors, down 66 percent, followed by New South Wales (NSW) at 64 percent and Queensland at 63 percent.

The ABS also revealed that 538,400 Australian residents returned from short-term overseas trips in March, a record-high fall of 29 percent from March 2019.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency