The number of businesses in Australia's tourism sector grew by about 6 per cent last year, according to a new report by Tourism Research Australia.
After some very difficult years, the report's findings are a welcome indicator of growing confidence in the sector, with a rise in the number of businesses recorded in every state and territory.
There are now 358,300 businesses directly involved in the tourism sector - that is 1 in 7 of all Australian businesses.
More than 107,500 of those businesses are in regional Australia, a rise of about 5 per cent on last year.
The report shows that the number of businesses with a turnover of $2 million or more grew 11 per cent last year.
These businesses employ people across the nation and are a large part of the reason that tourism employment is growing again, up 73,100 filled jobs in the latest quarterly statistics.
The report also shows a welcome boost in the number of sole traders in the tourism sector, with an additional 16,400 additional sole traders joining the tourism sector last year, a rise of 10.7 per cent.
Whether driving a bus or taxi, or performing at events or cultural ceremonies, sole traders enhance and enrich the visitor experience.
It's tremendous to see these numbers recovering after such a turbulent period in 2020 and 2021
The Albanese Government is focussed on ensuring the tourism sector has the right conditions to keep growing.
We reissued THRIVE 2030, the long-term national tourism strategy, earlier this month, and our $48 million Supporting Australian Tourism and Travel package, confirmed in the October 2022 Budget, is well underway.
