“In the big cities, it’s really changed considerably,” said Wide. “Now there are big queues for places that have been mentioned in Time Out (magazine) that aren’t particularly any better than other places around it, or something gets picked up on by the internet and all of a sudden you can’t get in there any more.”

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They recommend travellers look outside the most popular destinations in the country to experience Japanese culture and hospitality as it used to be when they began visiting in the 1990s.

Meanwhile, a cheap holiday in Bali certainly seemed appealing in 2024, with the number of Australians visitors to Indonesia surging to record levels. There were more than 1.6 million visits, up more than 26 per cent on last year and nearly 20 per cent on pre-COVID numbers.

Flight Centre Travel Group’s global leisure CEO James Kavanagh said Bali was the travel company’s top-selling destination in 2024.

“The year prior London held the top spot, so this switch shows a desire from customers for more affordable and closer-to-home options,” he said. “Aussies are watching their budgets due to the high cost-of-living but aren’t willing to forego travel altogether.”

Vietnam, the 9th most popular destination, also experienced massive growth, increasing to 423,000 visitors, up 35 per cent on last year and 33 per cent on 2019’s figures.

Despite still being the 4th most-visited country by Australians, and being up 13 per cent on last year, the United States visitor numbers remained well below pre-pandemic levels at 732,000 – almost a third lower than the same period in 2019.

“Bookings to the US dropped last year but we’re seeing airlines introducing new routes and increasing capacity which we’re hoping will see that trend turn around,” said Kavanagh.

Visitors to China are now close to returning to pre-pandemic levels thanks to a 124 per cent surge in the number of Australian residents heading there in 2024, helped by the return of major Chinese carriers to Australian routes.

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Although not among the most popular destinations, several countries saw huge increases in the number of Australians visiting compared to before the pandemic. These included South Korea (up 53 per cent – though the figures do not cover the period of recent political upheaval in the country), Turkey (up 39 per cent) and Pakistan (up 32 per cent). The number of visitors to Sri Lanka and Iran both surged by more than 40 per cent in 2024, taking the number of Australian visitors for both countries to above pre-pandemic levels.

Unsurprisingly, the countries with the biggest drops in Australian visitors were those involved in conflict and political unrest, notably Israel (down 64 per cent compared to last year), New Caledonia (down 50 per cent) and Lebanon (down 31 per cent).