Despite total tourist consumption contracting by 3.5% (real terms) in 2009, which is the largest fall since 3.9% in 2003 associated with SARS and the war in Iraq, Australia’s tourism industry managed to remain one of the most resilient. Now, as indicators begin to reveal improvements, an increase in hotel supply has been highlighted as a primary solution for making Australia more competitive and boosting demand. Population: 22 million Growth of GNP in 2009: -0.5% Hotel supply *: 6,124 hotels / 243 385 rooms Hotel industry results for 2009 (source Australian Bureau of Statistics) Occupancy Rate: 61.3% (-2.0 pts) Total revenue: $7.95 billion (8.15 in 2008) Conversion: 100 AUS$ = 70 euros Tourism Statistics 2009* Arrivals: 5.600,000 (stable) Nights: 54,000,000 (-2%) Primary international clientele-arrivals 2009 * New Zealand: 1,100,000 United Kingdom: 664,000 United States: 480,000 China: 366,000 Japan: 355,000
Australia proved to be one of the best performers in the international tourism market in 2009, despite the difficult conditions in key source markets, with visitors remaining stable. “This result is testament to the hard work of our industry and the resilience of the tourism sector, which is often affected by external shocks but continues to bounce back relatively quickly,” stated Managing Director, Tourism Australia, Andrew McEvoy. “Despite the headwind of the Global Financial Crisis and the outbreak of the H1N1 virus, Australian tourism managed to break even on international tourist numbers, defying the global downturn last year. These results show practical plans to lessen the impact of global events on travel to Australia last year have worked to a point,” added McEvoy.Strong tourism resultsAccording to Tourism Australia, 5.6 million arrivals were recorded in 2009, unchanged relative to 2008. Even after a slight decrease, Europe remains the largest source region, followed by Northeast Asia. In terms of feeder markets, neighbour New Zealand is yet again number one, with over 1.1 million arrivals. The UK is second with almost 664,000, followed by the US (almost 480,000), China (over 366,000) and then Japan (over 355,000).Good growth in 2009 came from Malaysia, with a 24% increase over 2008, Indonesia at 15%, France 9%, Belgium 7% and the US 6%. Meanwhile Japan, Korea and Spain all recorded significant decreases. The UK continues to be Australia’s most valuable inbound tourism market, accounting for around 14% of Total Inbound Economic Value (TIEV), followed by China (10%), New Zealand (8%), the US (8%), and Japan (6%).Almost half of all visitors travelled to Australia for a holiday, while a further quarter visited friends or relatives. Less than 15% travelled for business or MICE-related. Recent figures for early 2010 however show business arrivals recording the strongest growth (up 16.2%...
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