Aus Tourism up $2.2 billion, but which state has the strongest growth?

Aus Tourism up $2.2 billion, but which state has the strongest growth?
By Hannah Edensor


In the ever-changing space of travel, there are few things that are certain.

However, one thing that does not seem to be changing is Australia’s continually booming tourism economy.

Did we say not changing?

We mean increasing by $2.2 billion year-on-year.

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The record run for Australian tourism rolls on with spending by international visitors reaching a new high of $41.3 billion for the year ending December 2017.

Almost all states and territories saw growth in spending by international tourists during the year, with most recording double-digit increases.

So which state has the fastest and strongest growth?

Tassie.

You guessed it folks, the state we so often ridicule is leading the way in Aussie tourism.

Tasmania continues to enjoy the strongest growth in the country, with spending by international tourists surging 31 percent during the year and up an incredible 90 per cent over the past three years.

The new spending records are revealed in the latest International Visitor Survey (IVS) released today.

Who’s travelling to Australia?

Chinese tourists remain Australia’s biggest spenders, pumping a record $10.4 billion – a 14 per cent increase from last year – into the economy.

This exceptional growth comes off the back of the successful 2017 China Australia Year of Tourism and increased aviation capacity secured by the Turnbull Coalition Government.

Spending by visitors from the United States also continues to grow, up three percent to $3.8 billion.

Other top performers for the year included India and Hong Kong.

India recorded the strongest growth with visitors spending a record $1.4 billion, a 16 per cent increase.

How do we continue this growth?

Well crikey, it’s going to need a strong campaign.

Luckily, Tourism Aus has just that.

A new Crocodile Dundee teaser.

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The campaign, which first appeared as a trailer for a new Crocodile Dundee film before being revealed as a tourism campaign, aims to grow the US market to $6 billion by 2020.

Initial feedback from campaign partners and the industry has been overwhelmingly positive, with reports of a significant increase in booking inquiries and leads.

The International Visitor Survey is available here.

Check out the state-by-state breakdown here:

IVS Results (December 2016 – December 2017)Spending ($m)%
New South Wales104249%
Victoria765311%
Queensland53184%
South Australia114918%
Western Australia2297-5%
Tasmania49731%
Northern Territory46710%
ACT55823%

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