A year to the day since Australia welcomed international tourists back to our shores, our dynamic and resilient visitor economy continues to recover with the support of the Australian Government.
According to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data, international arrivals in December 2022 were at 60 per cent of December 2019 arrivals. That's a significant increase on March 2022, when international arrivals were at just 20 per cent of the number recorded in the same month in 2019.
International arrival numbers are expected to keep growing as aviation capacity increases, with Tourism Research Australia projecting international visitor expenditure to exceed pre-pandemic levels in 2024 and international visitor arrivals to exceed pre-pandemic levels in 2025.
The visitor economy, including long-stay international students, was Australia's fourth largest export sector before the COVID-19 pandemic. It was worth $166 billion annually to the economy.
To ensure the tourism industry continues to recover, the Australian Government is supporting a number of initiatives to help businesses get back on their feet after a challenging few years.
The $48 million Supporting Australian Tourism and Travel package, confirmed in the October 2022 Budget, is providing funding to assist tourism businesses to provide training and attract workers back to the industry, improve the quality of Australia's tourism offerings and return to the international market to support the recovery of the visitor economy.
Tourism Australia recently launched its $125 million global campaign, Come and Say G'day, which reminds the world why there's no place like Australia - through use of recognisable and beloved icons, stunning scenery and warm characters.
Since launching in October 2022 the short film, G'day, has had 102 million views across all channels and Tourism Australia is also launching more than 190 partnerships around the world, including 18 airlines.
Additionally, as part of the national THRIVE 2030 strategy, Austrade is working on international diversification in the visitor economy, connecting and building engagement with emerging markets in the region, while maintaining a share in existing key markets.
Together, these actions are designed to support the ongoing recovery of Australia's visitor economy and its growth into the future.
Quotes attributable to Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell:
"The Australian visitor economy is bouncing back, which is great news for our tourism operators and the hundreds of thousands of Australians working in the industry.
"Tourism is the lifeblood of many communities around the country who were hit hard by the global COVID-19 pandemic.
"The Albanese Government is supporting tourism recovery, and there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic with international travellers returning to our shores in growing numbers.
"That trend is forecast to continue and, to ensure it does, Tourism Australia is vigorously marketing our tourism offering in key markets around the world inviting travellers to Come and Say G'day."
