Asian tourists boost Aus tourism industry

Asian tourists boost Aus tourism industry

A flood of Asian tourists is expected to help the coffers of Australian tourism businesses swell to $130 billion within five years.

The travel sector is booming thanks to the Australian dollar’s recent tailspin, and is currently worth an estimated $118 billion in revenue, an IBISWorld report shows.

That figure is set to balloon to $129.7 billion by 2020/21 as more visitors from neighbouring Asian nations travel Down Under.

Travellers to Australia are at record highs, and for the first time ever tourists from greater China – including Hong Kong – overtook New Zealand in September, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show.

China has also surpassed the previously lucrative Japanese market in terms of visitor numbers, nights stayed and dollars spent, the IBISWorld report’s author, Ryan Lin said.

“Chinese visitors have outspent visitors from the United Kingdom by 50 per cent,” he said.

“India is expected to follow suit, driven by a growing middle class and an increase in the number of Indians choosing to study in Australia.”

Australia’s top five most valuable tourism markets in 2014/15 were traditional favourites such as the UK, US and New Zealand, Mr Lin said.

However, while the industry’s revenues are on the rise, profits are under pressure for many tourism businesses.

IBIS expects only modest profit growth in the next five years, mainly because of intense competition in the sector.

“The number of traditional bricks-and-mortar businesses, such as travel agents, are expected to decline as finding travel information, booking and paying online becomes the norm for many travellers,” the IBIS report said.

AUSTRALIA’S TOP TOURISM MARKETS in 2014/15

  1. China ($7b in total trip expenditure)
  2. UK ($3.5b)
  3. US ($3.03b)
  4. New Zealand ($2.49)
  5. Japan ($1.34b)

Source: Tourism Australia

 

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