Market spotlight: Australia

Jo Palmer
Managing Director
Visit California Australia

Market performance

One of the clearest lessons emerging from the Australian market is that Australians don't need to be convinced to visit California: they need compelling reasons to choose California now. Encouragingly, June 2026 data showed Australian air arrivals to California increased 10.2% year-over-year. While multiple factors contributed, the World Cup was a key driver of renewed travel demand, demonstrating the growing influence of global sporting events on international visitation.

This June bump was not enough to make the first half of 2026 a positive one — Australian air arrivals into California were down 6.7% year-over-year — but the state’s performance relative to the U.S. overall is a bright spot. Air arrivals for the U.S. were down 8.5% during the same period.

Australia continues to deliver strong visitor spending despite its relatively small population. Australian travelers stay longer, explore more regions across the state and generate high visitor expenditures. Visitor spending is forecast to reach $1.3 billion in 2026 (+5.3%), accounting for approximately 5% of California's international visitor spending. Visitation is expected to increase to 436,000 (+4.6%) in 2027, while visitor spending is projected to grow 6.5% to $1.4 billion.

Competitive environment

California continues to outperform the broader U.S. market. In 2025, 42.8% of Australians visiting the United States included California in their itinerary — the state’s second most dominant share after Mexico. However, competition for Australian travelers continues to intensify. Expanded air service, favorable exchange rates and strong destination marketing are creating more international travel options across Asia, Europe and the Americas. Within the United States, growing connectivity through gateways such as Dallas, Houston and New York are also increasing competition for California's traditional gateway role.

Visit California programs

In an increasingly crowded marketplace, sport has become a powerful way to cut through the noise. It creates cultural relevance, captures attention and provides a timely reason to travel. California is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this trend through a pipeline of globally significant events, including the Super Bowl and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Few destinations can match the sustained opportunities these events present to inspire visitation over multiple years.

Visit California's strategy in Australia is built around leveraging these iconic cultural moments to tell a broader California story. During FY25/26, this approach delivered strong results. NOVA Radio's Road to the Super Bowl campaign transformed a $180,000 partnership into more than $630,000 in delivered value, while World Cup activations generated more than four million media impressions, $293,000 in advertising value and several hundred flight bookings through targeted travel advisor incentives.

Most importantly, these campaigns demonstrated that the event is not the destination —it's the invitation. By maximizing the opportunity presented by the World Cup, Visit California used football fandom as a catalyst to showcase experiences extending well beyond the tournament itself. Integrated public relations and content programs inspired travelers to explore California's iconic road trips, spectacular coastline, world-class culinary experiences, entertainment, national parks and vibrant regional communities. This approach proved highly effective and will continue to shape future campaigns.
Looking ahead, Visit California will build on this momentum by focusing on fewer, bigger, higher-impact platforms, including the Australia Sales & Media Mission, a major three-day activation surrounding the NFL game in Melbourne leveraging partnerships with the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers, the fourth year of the market-leading California Advisory Council, flagship moments surrounding Super Bowl LXI and the ongoing partnership with Qantas. Together, these initiatives will showcase the breadth of California's tourism offering — from sport and road trips to culinary experiences, film, family travel, regional destinations and the only-in-California experiences that continue to inspire Australian travelers.