Australian tourism industry continues to go from strength-to-strength with a record 8.4 million international travellers flocking to Australian shores over the last year.
International travellers are also spending record amounts with $42.5 billion injected into the local economy, a five per cent spike in the previous year.
Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham welcomed the results saying more international travellers meant more people in our restaurants, staying in our hotels and visiting our tourist attractions. Birmingham said there continued to be strong demand from China with visitor numbers up 13 per cent, reaching a record 1.3 million and spending up 15 per cent to a record $11.3 billion.
Tourism Australia’s Undiscover Australia campaign, launched in September, seeks to capitalise on the potential of the lucrative South and South-East Asia market by encouraging high value travellers to come and experience the more unusual, unfamiliar and unexpected destinations on offer around our country such as the lavender fields of Northern Tasmania or four-wheel driving on Fraser Island.
Traveller numbers from the US were also up five per cent, an early sign that the Dundee campaign targeting travellers from North America, was starting to cut through.
The Liberal-National Government continues to deliver record funding to Tourism Australia to help attract more international travellers to our shores as a booming tourist sector helps contribute to a stronger economy and more Australian jobs.
The latest International Visitor Survey results are available at www.tra.gov.au.
