Rejoice! Tourists staying longer and spending more

Melbourne, Australia - April 21, 2015: The busy Centre Place alley full of people

By Amy Bryant

Australia’s tourism industry is showing no signs of slowing, with exports nudging the mammoth $40 billion mark.

The latest tourism data released by Tourism Research Australia shows international visitors are delivering just under $40 billion annually to Australia’s economy.

On a whole, Australia’s visitation figures were up nine per cent year-on-year, with 7.724 million landing on our shores.

State-wise, NSW took the crown, with 3.9 million visitors, up 10 per cent compared to last year, followed by Victoria at 2.7 million (up eight per cent), then QLD, at 2.6 million (up seven per cent).

Results from the International Visitor Survey found that Asian markets recorded the fastest growth in spend for the year, with six key markets showing double-digit growth; Japan was up 18 per cent to $1.7 billion and Korea was up 10 per cent to $1.6 billion.

India was up 18 per cent to $1.3 billion while Taiwan was up 21 per cent to $960 million, while Indonesia increased by 10 per cent to $715 million and Thailand rose to 23 per cent to $442 million.

The United States is also helping drive this record growth, spending $3.6 billion in Australian during last year – a 64 per cent jump since 2012.

ATEC Managing Director, Peter Shelley said, “In the 12 months to March this year our tourism exports grew by five per cent, taking us to a record $39.8 billion in international visitor spending, which is a significant achievement.”

The Minister for Tourism, Steven Ciabo, said that the growth has been strong for regional Australia.

“During the last year tourists from across the globe spent a record $39.8 billion during the 262 million nights they stayed in Australia. Both increases of five per cent from the year ending March 2017,” Ciabo said.

Regional Australia is enjoying a boom with a 29 per cent increase in both international tourists and spending over the last three years. The Turnbull Government’s investment in regional Australia is seeing international visitors grow six times faster and spending grow five times faster than it did under Labor.

ATEC members also noticed an increase in regional visitation across most states.

“These figures also show we are achieving another goal in building a sustainable tourism industry, with significant inbound growth in a number of states including Tasmania and WA – a sign that international visitors are exploring well beyond our major hubs,” Shelley said.

These results build on the successful appointment of Chris Hemsworth as Australia’s global tourism ambassador.

Through this work with Tourism Australia, the home grown hero has generated more than 4,500 media articles globally, with an Estimated Advertising Value of more than $144 million.

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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