Internationals visiting Australia prefer Brisbane or Melbourne

According to federal tourism figures Sydney is losing share to Brisbane and Melbourne in the number of nights spent by those visiting Australia from overseas.

Last week Sydney came ninth in a global study into the liveability of 140 cities, behind Melbourne at number three.

In a survey in the magazine Monocle yesterday Sydney ranked  number 13 in the top 25 places for quality of life - four places behind Melbourne.

The magazine praised the city for its "energy and positivity" and for its restaurants but damned it for its public transport, its reliance on car culture and for its "patchy cultural calendar".

After two consecutive years in the number one spot, Sydney has succumbed to Paris in the long-running Anholt-GfK index of city brands, which asks 10,000 people worldwide to rate their favourite city.

Sydney managed to lead in three of the six categories - for cleanliness, friendliness and accommodation - but failed to make the cut for cultural events and interesting lifestyles.

To visit Australia, most travellers – apart from New Zealanders - will need to apply for an Australian holiday visa – ETA to enter the country for tourism purposes.  For those from eligible countries, the ETA visa is a simple, instantaneous holiday visa that allows people to holiday in Australia for up to three months.  Take a free online assessment to see if you are eligible for the Australian holiday visa - ETA.

The Australian Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people with Australian visas applications and immigration to Australia.