“China has been a strong focus of the industry for the past few years, but we are now seeing a return to good growth in markets including the UK – recording a 12% growth – and the USA with 9% growth.
“This is a reflection of a more favourable currency exchange, increased confidence in the strength of local economies post the GFC as well as a release of some pent up demand which has grown over this period.”
Mr Shelley said the China market continued to grow strongly with visitor numbers up 14% and holding the number one spot for spending at $4.8 billion – up 16% over the 12 months on the back of a 14% growth in the number of visitor arrivals. “Changes made to tourism laws by the Chinese Government have put some downward pressure on the number of holiday visitors from this market – an impact that will have been felt across the globe.
“The positive effect of this new law is that it appears to have coincided with a growth in holiday visitor spending, up 13% during this period, which bears out in a higher yielding visitor – fewer visitors but spending more money.
“While Australia should be focused on growing visitation from China, we must continue to improving both the quality of the experience and the yield within the holiday segment of the market as well as ensuring we reduce any impediments to travel to Australia.
“Streamlining visa processing for the higher yielding independent visitors who engage more readily with local tourism businesses and have a greater propensity to travel outside of the capital cities is an important part of our potential success.”
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