Australia’s Tourism & Hospitality industry has seen incredible growth over the last year, thanks to our country’s world-class cities, un-spoilt coastlines and spectacular outback. Since June last year, IBIS World reports we have welcomed 8.5 million international visitors, which have brought $40.8 billion into the local economy.
This year, over 1.3 million New Zealanders made the short 3.5-hour flight to Australia, making them our biggest-visiting tourist group to-date. This was followed closely by visitors from China, who are predicted to overtake New Zealand’s figure in the next year, with 1.2 million visiting our shores in 2016 – projected to grow by another 100,000 by the close of 2017.
Chinese tourists are the biggest spenders when visiting Australia, injecting more than $9.8 billion dollars into the Australian economy, compared to New Zealanders who spent $2.7 billion in the last year.
Tourists from the US and UK are also popular visitors, as the third and fourth largest groups respectively, spending more than $3.5 billion dollars during their visits to our shoreline.
Now for the big question, which Australian city is the most popular to visit? Sydney easily takes the win, with more than 4 million visitors annually, followed by Melbourne visitors at 2.7 million and Brisbane at 2.6 million.
For those looking to explore some national treasures this holiday season, see below for our top picks:
- Great Barrier Reef: An extraordinary natural beauty, the Great Barrier Reef is made up of over 3000 reef systems and hundreds of tropical islands, making for an extraordinary snorkeling experience.
- Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park: An iconic Australian landmark made of red sand stone, an outback sunset at Uluru is sought by many
- Melbourne City: Home to artistic laneways, incredible bars, restaurants and shopping, Melbourne is not to miss cultural experience. It was also recently announced the most livable city in the world!
- Sydney Harbour Bridge: The largest steel arch bridge in the world, this historic landmark is situated over Sydney’s harbours… an unforgettable experience for those brave enough to climb it.
- Fraser Island: Named the world’s largest sand island, Fraser Island is a breath-taking view of white beaches, crystal blue waters, leafy rainforests and fresh water lakes.
Information provided by Tourism Australia and IBISWorld.