More than 50 flights were due to land on Monday (21 February) and travellers can currently enter all states except Western Australia, which remains closed until 3 March.

National carrier Qantas is set to fly more than 14,000 passengers to Australia this week and group chief executive Alan Joyce said bookings had been "strong" since reopening plans were announced earlier this month. 

“It’s fair to say we’ve all been waiting a long time to welcome visitors back to Australia. The thousands of international tourists arriving this week and many more over the coming months will help kick-start the tourism industry, which has had it tough for the past couple of years," said Joyce.

"We can clearly see from the Australian government’s announcement that people are very keen to come back to Australia, and we continue to see strong bookings out of the US and UK, as well as South Africa and Canada."

At Sydney airport, arrivals were greeted with live entertainment, Aussie-themed gifts and a 75-metre “Welcome Back World!” message, painted adjacent to one of the runways.

Australian minister for trade, tourism and investment, Dan Tehan, and Tourism Australia managing director Phillipa Harrison were also there to welcome arrivals.

In Darwin, passengers enjoyed a red carpet welcome and had the chance to meet aboriginal cultural and education organisations, as well as Netflix TV presenter and local tourism figure Matt Wright.

Harrison said Tourism Australia, which launched its “Come and Say G’day – Don’t Go Small. Go Australia” campaign in the UK before the border reopening, was excited to welcome back international visitors, who she said “make up a critical part of economy”.

“We know Australia remains an incredibly desirable destination for international visitors and we can’t wait to once again share all of the unforgettable tourism experiences we have to offer here in Australia,” she said.

“There is no doubt the last two years have been very challenging for the tourism industry, and whilst recovery will take a bit of time, operators can’t wait to say ‘g’day’ and welcome back international tourists.”