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New Primara research; October 2025 became Australia's biggest non-January travel month on record, with 1.278 million returns from overseas—an 11% jump on last year. Singapore led the surge with a 52% increase in Australian visitors, driven by the F1 Grand Prix coinciding with school holidays and interest in Oscar Piastri's championship campaign.
New analysis of the latest ABS data reveals October 2025 has become Australia's biggest non-January month for international travel on record, with 1.278 million Australians returning from overseas holidays, marking an 11% surge on the same time last year.
The milestone makes October 2025 the 6th most popular month for international travel ever recorded, defying the cost of living crisis and breaking through the traditional January-dominated travel calendar. The figure represents the biggest month of travel since the record set in January 2025.
School Holidays Plus F1 Creates Perfect Storm
Singapore emerged as the hero of October's travel boom, recording 47,840 Australian visitors, its highest number since January 2020 and 52% higher than October 2024. The surge coincided with the Singapore F1 Grand Prix held on October 5th during local school holidays, a combination that proved irresistible for Australian families.
The timing was critical. In 2023 and 2024, Singapore's F1 was held in September outside school holiday periods, limiting family travel. October 2025 marked a return to the 2022 schedule, aligning the race with school breaks and heightened interest in Oscar Piastri's championship run.
- 1.278 million Australians returned from overseas in October 2025
- 11% surge compared to October 2024
- 6th most popular travel month ever recorded.
- 52% increase in Singapore visitors
- 47,840 Australian visitors to Singapore, highest since January 2020
Key destination shifts in October 2025:
Singapore: +52% (47,840 visitors, highest since Jan 2020)
Japan: +19%, second-biggest contributor
New Zealand: +12%, third-biggest contributor
USA: -4.9%, largest negative impact on total growth
UK: -4.6%, second largest negative impact on total growth
Despite ranking only 11th among Australian travel destinations, behind the top 3 of Indonesia, New Zealand and Japan, Singapore delivered the biggest contribution to October's growth.
Australia just proved that even amid a cost of living crisis, the right combination of timing, event and aspiration can trigger record-breaking travel demand. The tourism industry now needs to work out whether this was a perfect storm or a template for the future and which destinations can replicate Singapore's success.
