The official Tourism Australia page @australia has just amassed over five million followers on Instagram, making it easily the most followed national destination page in the world, ahead of Canada (1.8mil), New Zealand (1.1mil) and Japan (520k).
So what’s Australia’s secret? Cute, cuddly animals and jaw-dropping landscapes seem to be the key, with five of the top posts from the last five years celebrating Australia’s unique wildlife and stunning natural environments, as well as a heartfelt thank you to the nation’s hero firefighters last year.
Five of the top posts from the past five years
- 2021: Wombat happy dance– Maria Island, TAS
o (Credit: @see.tasmania)
- 2020: Thank You Firefighters– Sydney Opera House, NSW
o (Credit: @kenleanfore)
- 2019: Kangaroo hopping on water– Berrara Beach, NSW
o (Credit: @surfsidecudmirrahbeach)
- 2018: The SS City of Adelaide shipwreck– Magnetic Island, QLD
o (Credit: @conormoorephotography)
- 2017: Red crab migration: Christmas Island
o (Credit: @faulkner_photography)
Content is mostly user-generated, with thousands of images and videos submitted every day through the hashtag #seeaustralia – including from celebrity users like Chris Hemsworth, who shared holiday snaps alongside brothers Luke and Liam from a family trip to Australia’s World-Heritage island paradise, Lord Howe Island (New South Wales.) Pop princess Kylie Minogue also reposted the now iconic image of Australia’s firefighters cast onto the Sydney Opera House sails amid the 2019-20 bushfires.
The @australia account was established on 28 July 2011, with the first photo ever posted a picture of the Westlander Queensland Rail train, with the hashtags #Adventure and #Australian_Journeys.
In the decade since, @australia has posted a total of 10,709 pictures to their feed, with the hashtag #seeaustralia used over 5,717,766 times.
For more information and inspiration to help plan a future Australian journey, visit Australia.com .
