Travel and Tourism in an Australian Context

Australia has developed strong global links through its tourism and sport. Both industries are of great economic importance to Australia and are a significant source of growth for the Australian economy. While tourism is also an important source of employment in Australia, sport is significant for its image as a national 'religion' or 'obsession' with its own potential for attracting sport and business relationships with other countries.

o Domestic and international tourists consume more than $65billion in goods and services each year o This accounts for 4.5% of Australia’s gross domestic product (GDP) o 4% consists of indirect revenue from tourism – the flow of benefits, including increased output and employment that results from tourists consuming goods and services o Approximately 1 million people are employed in tourism related industries o Australia receives around 8million visitors per year o 50% holidays, 20% visiting friends and relatives, 15% business trips, 6% educational purposes o NZ, Europe and North America are the main sources

Tourism The importance of tourism to Australia may be seen in the number of Australians travelling overseas and, in turn, the thousands of overseas tourists visiting Australia each year. It has been Australia's single largest source of foreign exchange dollars and a significant source of employment and economic growth. Further, international visitors have consumed a large number of Australian goods and services. The recent high tourism share of Australia's GDP was reflected in part by the impact of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Since then, overseas issues linked to the impact of the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings, 2005 and 2006 London bombings, and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome 'SARS' scare has caused a decline in the number of international visitors to Australia and the willingness of Australians to travel overseas.

Sources of inbound tourists Millions of visitors have recently come to Australia, with an increase in arrivals over the previous decade. Inbound tourism has traditionally come more from Europe and North America but the fastest growing source of tourists with significant increases has been in Asia-Pacific countries, particularly New Zealand. Overall, the top source countries for visitor arrivals have often been New Zealand, followed by Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Significant increases for tourists have recently occurred for China, New Zealand, and Japan. Tourist numbers from European countries such as Italy, France and Ireland have also significantly increased. While New Zealand has seen the most visitor arrivals to Australia, Japan has often been Australia's largest financial tourism market.

Outbound destinations for tourism The number of Australians travelling overseas has steadily increased, and is currently at the highest annual number of departures so far recorded. The most popular destinations have often been New Zealand, followed by the United States, the United Kingdom, Indonesia and Thailand. Significant increases for departures have occurred for Indonesia, China, Thailand and Malaysia, most of which were for Australians 'holidaying'. However, a longer-term decline for departures to Indonesia has occurred due to the impact that the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings have had on the willingness of Australians to travel to such parts

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