The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is working to strengthen key bilateral tourism relationships as part of the Australian Government's economic diplomacy agenda and its priorities under Tourism 2020. The Australian Government is also working with key multilaterals including the APEC Tourism Working Group and the OECD Tourism Committee.
In 2013-14:
- tourism GDP rose 3.4 per cent to $43.4 billion (around 2.7 per cent of total GDP);
- tourism industry exports rose 4.1 per cent to $27.2 billion (8.2 per cent of total exports);
- tourism industry imports increased by 3.6 per cent; and
- direct tourism employment decreased 1.0 per cent to 534,000. At the same time, total employment in Australia increased 0.8 per cent. This resulted in tourism's share of total employment decreasing 4.6 per cent (Tourism Research Australia Tourism Satellite Account 2013-14).
In 2014:
- the number of international visitors to Australia increased 7.6 per cent to 6.9 million; and
- total trip expenditure grew 7 per cent to $31.1 billion (Tourism Research Australia International visitors in Australia, December 2014).
International visitors to Australia 2014 by visitor numbers (a)
| Rank | Country | Number of visitors ('000) | % change on 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Zealand | 1,241 | 4.1 |
| 2 | China | 839 | 18.4 |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 652 | -0.8 |
| 4 | United States | 553 | 10.4 |
| 5 | Singapore | 372 | 9.5 |
| 6 | Japan | 326 | 0.7 |
| 7 | Malaysia | 324 | 16.6 |
| 8 | Republic of Korea | 204 | 3.3 |
| 9 | Hong Kong (SAR of China) | 201 | 10.0 |
| 10 | India | 197 | 16.5 |
(a) Department of Immigration and Border Protection.
International visitors to Australia 2014 by total trip expenditure
| Rank | Country | Number of visitors ('000) | % change on 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 5,712 | 19.0 |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 3,384 | -1.0 |
| 3 | United States | 2,790 | 9.0 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 2,438 | 6.0 |
| 5 | Japan | 1,365 | 4.0 |
| 6 | Singapore | 1,153 | 9.0 |
| 7 | Republic of Korea | 1,140 | 0.0 |
| 8 | Malaysia | 1,070 | 14.0 |
| 9 | Germany | 1,037 | 8.0 |
| 10 | Hong Kong (SAR of China) | 978 | 9.0 |
(b) Tourism Research Australia International visitors in Australia, December 2014.
Last Updated: 26 November 2015