Today’s International Visitor Survey (IVS) results show Australia’s tourism industry remains robust but the landscape is changing, with new markets rapidly emerging while traditional markets ebb and flow with economic and political changes.
“While our traditional inbound tourism markets remain strong, we now see a much broader engagement with newer markets like Malaysia, India and Korea which are showing notable growth,” ATEC Managing Director, Peter Shelley said.
“Globally there is an increasing appetite for travel and a growing number of people who can now afford to explore the world, particularly from newly industrialised countries which are attracted to Australia as a travel destination.
“These IVS figures clearly show that while these new markets may be coming off a low base, countries like India and Malaysia show remarkable promise.”
“The China market continues to rank high across all metrics for the December quarter with visitor numbers up 9% and visitor nights up 33%. In this, the China Australia Year of Tourism, China is still registering impressive growth off what is now a large base.”
Mr Shelley said the softening UK market reveals a price sensitivity which has been impacted by the decreasing value of pound and uncertainty caused by Brexit.
“On the other hand, strong growth in the US market sees it competing with the UK market for third largest market to Australia behind New Zealand and China, a very welcome trend.
“We have also seen significant growth in the high-yielding Japan market which, with improved air capacity backed by strong marketing campaigns, has re-engaged with Australia delivering a 19% growth in visitors and an impressive 29% growth in spending.
“Australia has long been a bucket list destination for our traditional markets and this hasn’t changed, but what we can also see a sensitivity to political and economic changes where traveller decisions are clearly impacted by affordability – so factors such as visa fees are real and relevant.
“International travel is a variable marketplace which means that our Australian tourism exporters need to stay on their toes and continue to explore and engage with new opportunities in order to maintain the current growth trajectory.”
