regional tourism statistics australia

Australia’s online library of regional research

[In]Sight: Economic diversification and the competitiveness of regional Australia

• Author: Regional Australia Institute
• Country: Australia

[In]Sight is an online index and interactive map tracking the competitiveness of Australia’s 560 Local Government Areas (LGA) and 55 Regional Development Australia (RDA) regions, unlocking thousands of insights into regional Australia.     [In]Sight’s economic diversification indicator (within the Business Sophistic ....

A community built on the pond: Social cohesion, sport tourism and the World Pond Hockey Championships

• Author: Awde, Cory
• Journal Name: ProQuest Dissertations and Theses
• Publisher: University of Ottawa (Canada)
• Published Location: Canada
• ISBN: 9780494464649
• Country: Canada
• State/Region: New Brunswick

Neoliberalism and globalization have contributed to an environment of economic uncertainty in rural Canada, raising concern for the social well-being of its residents. Despite immense challenges, many rural communities possess positive elements of social cohesion that can be used by the community in the pursuit of their communal objecti ....

A longitudinal study of the use of the web by regional tourism organisations

• Author: Lois Burgess, Belinda Parrish, Joan Cooper and Carole Alcock

The information-intensive nature of the tourism and travel industry suggests an important role for Web technology in the promotion and marketing of tourist destinations. The rapid development of the Internet is also having profound impacts on the industry. In fact, travel and tourism has become the single largest category of products sold over th ....

A Profile of Cellar Door Personnel: An Exploratory Case Study Analysis of Two Australian Wine Regions

• Author: Williams, Kim Marianne
• Journal Name: Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism
• Journal Number: 12.1
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Published Location: United Kingdom
• ISBN: 15332845
• State/Region: Victoria, South Australia

This exploratory study investigated the profile of cellar door personnel working in two wine districts in Australia, the Yarra Valley, Victoria, and the McLaren Vale, South Australia. The project examined the demographic profile, employment relationships, career mobility, and the perceived skills and knowledge essential for cellar door or tasting ....

A rapid assessment of the effects of extreme weather on two Great Barrier Reef industries

• Author: Margaret Gooch, Karen Vella, Nadine Marshall, Renae Tobin & Rachel Pears
• Journal Name: Australian Planner
• Journal Number: 50.3
• ISBN: 0729-3682
• State/Region: Queensland

In coastal areas, extreme weather events, such as floods and cyclones, can have debilitating effects on the social and economic viability of marine-based industries. In March 2011, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority implemented an Extreme Weather Response Program, following a period of intense flooding and cyclonic activity between Dece ....

ABS Tourism Statistics

• Year: Various
• Author: Australian Bureau of Statistics
• State/Region: All

Includes data over various years on accomodation, domestic tourism, employment by industry, visitor expenditure, and visitors. Report Locationhttp://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/ViewContent?readform&view=ProductsbyTopic&Action=Expand&Num=3.16 ....

Advancing North Queensland: Investing in the future of the north

• Publisher: Queensland Government
• State/Region: North Queensland

Advancing North Queensland outlines the five priority areas that have been identified to accelerate the government's efforts to develop and diversify North Queensland's economy. These are road infrastructure, water security, research and innovation, tourism, trade and investment, and North Queensland stadium. Report LocationClick here to view ....

An analysis of amenity-led rural economic development in northeast region: A spatial simultaneous equations approach

• Author: Kahsai, Mulugeta Saare
• Publisher: West Virginia University
• Published Location: United States -- West Virginia
• ISBN: 9781109440652
• Country: United States

In a matter of just a few decades, the economic landscape of rural America has changed in fundamental ways. Industries onceconsidered the backbone of rural economies have been  transformed by globalization and marketing. Others, such as tourism and amenity-based economies or the service sector, have emerged to replace the traditional na ....

Application of resiliency theory and adaptive cycles as a framework for evaluating change in amenity-transition communities

• Author: Hoffmann, Scott L.
• Publisher: Utah State University
• Published Location: United States -- Utah
• ISBN: 9780549797005

In recent decades, many rural, natural resource-dependent communities have experienced ubiquitous and oftentimes substantial economic decline due to downturns in their commodity-oriented industries. In spite of this, communities with access to varying forms of natural capital have experienced an upsurge in activities such as recreation, ....

Benefits and costs of tourism for remote communities: case study for the Carpentaria Shire in north-west Queensland

• Author: Greiner R (CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Davies Laboratory Townsville) > Mayocchi C (CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Davies Laboratory Townsville); Larson S (CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Davies Laboratory Townsville); Stoeckl N (James Cook University, Town
• Publisher: CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems
• ISBN: 192094902X

This report summarises the results of a research project that studied the relationship between tourism and Carpentaria Shire Qld, as a host region and a host community. Tourism has become a significant industry in Carpentaria Shire since sealed roads ensured easy access by travellers. The regional community is small and tourism has ....

Change through tourism: Resident perceptions of tourism development

• Author: Doh, Minsun
• Publisher: Texas A&M University
• Published Location: United States -- Texas
• ISBN: 9780549415374
• State/Region: Texas

Many view tourism as a tool for community development. Especially in the rural areas experiencing economic hardships, tourism often is considered an instrument for revitalization of a local economy helping to improve quality of life and protect natural and cultural resources. However, many researchers have raised concerns about an over ....

Comparing resident attitudes toward tourism: Community-based cases from Arctic Canada

• Author: Stewart, Emma J.
• Publisher: University of Calgary (Canada)
• ISBN: 9780494512142
• State/Region: Arctic Canada

This research examines attitudes toward local tourism development held by a sample of stakeholders and residents in three Arctic Canadian communities: Churchill, Northern Manitoba, Cambridge Bay and Pond Inlet, both in Nunavut. This research is premised on the idea that complex phenomena such as tourism are best understood through the l ....

Consequences of tourism-based growth on rural communities' quality of life: A comparative study of Liberia and La Fortuna, Costa Rica

• Author: Matarrita Cascante, David
• Publisher: The Pennsylvania State University
• Published Location: United States -- Pennsylvania
• ISBN: 9780549906001
• Country: Costa Rica

Tourism has become a source of income generation for many rural communities seeking ways to improve their livelihoods. This is particularly the case of amenity-rich areas which attract tourists because of their natural endowments. Often tourism-based growth is reflected in economic and infrastructural improvements. Nevertheless, such gr ....

Contribution of Indigenous Culture to Tourism Development – A Case in Central Australia

• Author: Gerritsen, Rolf; Zeng, Benxiang; Stoeckl, Natalie
• Journal Name: International Journal of Culture and Tourism Research
• Journal Number: Vol. 3, No. 1
• State/Region: Central Australia

Tourism is a major contributor to Australia's economy.  Tourists and ther expenditure, from the provision of infrastructure, direct and indirect employment, and opportunities for cultual exchange impact upon many aspects of Australian life. Even a modest increase in the gorwth of tourism could see potentially significant benefits accrue in r ....

Creative destruction and rural tourism planning: The case of Creemore, Ontario

• Author: Vanderwerf, Julie L.
• Publisher: University of Waterloo (Canada)
• ISBN: 9780494438497
• State/Region: Ontario

This study assesses the relationship between planning and creative destruction in the village of Creemore, Ontario. The study has four objectives. The first is to describe the evolution of tourism in Creemore by tracking change in three variables: investment, visitor numbers and resident attitudes. Second, is to describe past and presen ....

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UN Tourism | Bringing the world closer

Global and regional tourism performance.

• international tourist arrivals and receipts and export revenues
• international tourism expenditure and departures
• Seasonality
• Tourism Flows
• Accommodation
• Tourism GDP and Employment
• Domestic Tourism

The UNWTO Tourism Data Dashboard – provides statistics and insights on key indicators for inbound and outbound tourism at the global, regional and national levels. Data covers tourist arrivals, tourism receipts, tourism share of exports and contribution to GDP, source markets, seasonality, domestic tourism and data on accommodation and employment.

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Research and insights

Explore a range of research to understand the trends and issues impacting the sector to enable better data-led decision-making.

Combined domestic and international visitation statistics, forecasts and information on key attractions and experiences.

Monthly and quarterly domestic visitation statistics for Victoria, and domestic market profiles.

The latest International Visitor Survey results for Victoria by spend, visitors and nights.

Key domestic statistics for regional Victoria including an interactive data map.

The value of tourism’s contribution to Victoria’s economy, tourism business counts, investment, and accommodation data.

Additional research including Aboriginal tourism, accessible tourism and cycle tourism.

Total tourism spend

The latest spend data for the year ending December 2023 (released 27 March 2024) shows:

• spend in Victoria was $37.8 billion
• spend increased 20% year-on-year (YoY).
• total tourism spend was 17% above the year ending December 2019.

Total tourism visitors

The latest visitation data for the year ending December 2023 shows:

• 89.2 million total visitors to/within Victoria
• visitors increased 7% YoY
• total visitors returned to 89% of the year ending December 2019 result.

Origin of overnight visitors to Victoria

For further information please email [email protected]

We acknowledge the Aboriginal Traditional Owners of Country throughout Victoria, their ongoing connection to this land and we pay our respects to their culture and their Elders past, present and future.

© 2023 Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions

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Content Library Images, videos and editorial content showcasing destinations and experiences across Sydney and NSW.

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Regional NSW statistics

Key statistics for regional NSW, the largest and most diverse regional economy in Australia. Includes tourism statistics for our 11 regional tourism regions.

67.9 million

85.3 million

EXPENDITURE

25.2 billion

In the year ending September 2023, there were 26.4 million domestic overnight visitors to regional NSW (up 9.2 per cent on the year ending September 2022), who stayed 85.3 million nights (up 5.7 per cent) and spent $18.7 billion (up 12.5 per cent).

Data in this section is sourced from the Tourism Research Australia (TRA) National Visitor Survey (NVS) and International Visitor Survey (IVS). TRA is a branch within Austrade and is Australia's leading provider of visitor economy intelligence across both international and domestic markets.

Latest release

• Travel to regional NSW snapshot: September 2023 PDF

Archive: snapshots

• Travel to regional NSW snapshot: June 2023 PDF
• Travel to regional NSW snapshot: March 2023 PDF
• Travel to regional NSW snapshot: Dec 2022 PDF

Latest release: time series

• Travel to regional NSW time series: September 2023 PDF

Archive: times series

• Travel to regional NSW time series: June 2023 PDF
• Travel to regional NSW times series: March 2023 PDF
• Travel to Regional NSW time series: December 2022 PDF

The conferencing sector brings significant economic and employment benefits to NSW.

Key statistics for the 12 regional visitor economy regions in NSW.

Regional Tourism Satellite Account

The Regional Tourism Satellite Accounts provide information on the economic importance of tourism for each of NSW’s tourism regions. Reports include infographics and data tables for Sydney and for each tourism region in Australia.

Regional NSW accommodation snapshot: June 2023

North Coast NSW continues to lead regional NSW, accounting for 23.3 per cent of establishments and 22.9 per cent of rooms. It also leads in terms of room revenue takings in regional NSW with 24.4 per cent share.

All regional NSW areas, except for North Coast NSW and Snowy Mountains, recorded increases in occupancy rates in the March quarter 2023 as compared to the March quarter 2022.

Average Daily Rate and Revenue per available room increased across all tourism regions in the March quarter 2023, with the exception of the Blue Mountains and the Snowy Mountains.

When compared to the December quarter 2022, Central Coast, New England North West, Snowy Mountains, South Coast and the Murray recorded an increase in occupancy rates.

Local Government Area (LGA) profiles

Tourism Research Australia prepares profiles for Local Government Areas (LGAs) with adequate International Visitor Survey and/or National Visitor Survey sample to produce robust results. Data is averaged over four years, which minimises the impact of variability in estimates from year to year. It also provides more robust volume estimates. Profiles are provided for international travel, domestic overnight travel, and/or domestic day travel.

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National Tourism Satellite Account 2019-20

An annual data product examining Australia’s tourism performance through an economic lens.

Main content

National tourism satellite account 2019–20.

The Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) examines Australia’s tourism performance through an economic lens. This summary of the TSA looks at the impacts of COVID-19 on this performance and sheds light on where these were felt most deeply.

We use TSA data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to report on:

• the value of goods and services consumed by visitors
• the resulting contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), international trade and employment.

This information helps industry and governments monitor performance and support strategies for recovery and future growth.

Disruptions in the tourism sector

Australia’s tourism industry experienced sustained growth from 2009 to 2019. Previous TSAs therefore held a positive outlook. This is in stark contrast to the present situation.

The impacts of COVID-19 on the visitor economy are unprecedented. Sudden restrictions to mobility have caused immediate and severe disruptions to the tourism sector. These include:

• the closing of international borders which has significantly reduced international arrivals
• state border closures and internal mobility restrictions that have significantly impacted the domestic tourism markets. Both interstate and intrastate
• people being more hesitant to travel due to physical distancing and the increased need for safety.

Key results

Total tourism consumption fell by 19% or $29.5 billion in 2019–20. This resulted in:

• $50.4 billion in direct tourism GDP to the economy. This was 18% or $10.8 billion less than the previous year
• tourism GDP as a share of the national economy falling from 3.1% in 2018–19 to 2.5% in 2019–20
• direct tourism employment of 621,000 people. This was 4.8% of the Australian workforce and 6.6% lower than in 2018–19
• tourism exports falling to $31.2 billion. This is down 21% from 2018–19. Tourism exports are from international visitors spending money on Australian goods and services
• tourism imports falling to $42.1 billion. This is down 27.8% from 2018–19. Tourism imports are the money Australian residents spend when travelling overseas.

Notes on the data

The  TSA produced by the ABS  is the basis for this report.

The TSA summarises industry performance over the entire financial year, it therefore tends to smooth out fluctuations in performance. Fluctuations in performance were a significant issue for 2019–2020. For that financial year, tourism performance for the first two quarters was strong. However for the second half of 2019–20:

• Australia’s summer bushfires had significant impacts on tourism activity during the early part of 2020. This was during what would normally be peak trading periods.
• COVID-19 has had a major impact on the visitor economy from February 2020. This saw a dramatic slowdown in tourism activity in the June quarter of 2020.

help Hover on line markers over relevant quarter to show total figures

Source: Tourism Research Australia, International and National Visitor Surveys, June 2020

Tourism consumption results

Tourism consumption in Australia decreased 19.3% (or $29.5 billion) to $123.1 billion in 2019–20. This decline comprised:

• international visitors – down 21% from $39.6 billion to $31.2 billion
• Australians on domestic overnight travel – down 20.1% from $87.2 billion to $69.7 billion
• Australians on day trip travel – down 14.2% from $25.8 billion to $22.2 billion.

Taking a longer-term view, international travel is unlikely to return to previous levels for several years. Domestic tourism will therefore be a more important part of Australia’s visitor economy and critical for longer-term recovery.

The fall in tourism consumption had varying impacts on spending across Australia’s visitor economy. While all products were significantly affected, the most severe impacts were for:

• Transport – down 25.2%
• Travel agency and information centre services – down 21%
• Recreation, cultural and gambling – down 19.3%
• Accommodation and food services – down 18%.

As most international students have stayed on in Australia during the pandemic, spend on education has seen a more modest decline – down 7.5% from $8.7 billion to $8.0 billion.

help Hover over bars to show total figures

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian National Accounts: Tourism Satellite Account, Tourism consumption, June 2020

GDP from tourism

GDP from tourism was $50.4 billion in 2019–20. This was a decrease of 17.6% compared with 2018–19.

This fall in GDP was much worse than for the rest of the economy. In 2019–20, national GDP grew by 1.7%. As a result, tourism’s share of the national economy fell from 3.1% in 2018–19 to 2.5% in 2019–20.

help Hover over bars to show total figures.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian National Accounts: Tourism Satellite Account, GDP, June 2020

Exports and imports

Tourism’s export value comes from international visitors spending on Australian goods and services. Imports are counted from Australian residents’ spending during overseas travel.

The value of tourism exports was $31.2 billion in 2019–20. This is down 21% compared with 2018–19. This is consistent with the 27.9% fall in visitor numbers over the same period. Due to this fall, tourism has slipped from being Australia’s largest service export to our second largest behind international education.

Over the same period:

• tourism became Australia’s 5th largest export overall, down from 4th in 2018–19
• tourism’s share of total exports fell from 8.4% to 6.6%.

Tourism imports were also dramatically affected by closing the Australian border.

The number of trips taken by Australians travelling overseas in 2019–20 fell by 23.8% from 11.2 million to 8.6 million. This is reflected in a 27.8% fall in the value of tourism imports from $58.3 billion to $42.1 billion.

help Hover on line markers over relevant year to show total figures.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian National Accounts: Tourism Satellite Account, Tourism exports and imports, June 2020

There were 621,000 workers employed in tourism in 2019–20. This is 6.6% less than the 664,900 working in 2018–19.

Over this same period, Australia’s workforce grew 0.1%. As a result, tourism’s share of Australian employment fell from 5.2% to 4.8%.

The fall in tourism employment had the greatest impact among part-time workers. There were 8.5% fewer part-time tourism workers in 2019–20, compared with 4.9% fewer full-time workers. The extent of job losses was also slightly higher among females. There were 7.0% fewer female workers in 2019–20 compared to 6.2% fewer males.

These employment numbers are on the full financial year and under-represent the current situation due to these factors:

• Many tourism employees are currently not working. However, they remain on company payrolls while on Jobkeeper support.
• tourism jobs peaked at 748,200 jobs in the December quarter 2019
• the number of tourism jobs then fell 18% over the first six months of 2020 to 611,700 jobs
• jobs held by females declined by 21%, compared with a 14% decline in jobs held by males over that six-month period.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics Tourism Satellite Accounts: quarterly tourism labour statistics, experimental estimates, June 2020

Explanatory notes

The Australian TSA is prepared by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and funded by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade).

This  2019–20 edition of the TSA  (Cat. No. 5249.0) was published on the ABS website on 10 December 2020.

• Estimates in this edition are based on Tourism Research Australia’s International Visitor Survey (IVS) and National Visitor Survey (NVS), year ending June 2020.
• Aggregates for the whole Australian economy are sourced from the 2019–20 Australian System of National Accounts (Cat. No. 5204.0).
• All economic estimates in this issue are recorded at current prices used at the time of the observation. This is regardless of the change of value over time.
• Estimates and times series for consumption, GVA and GDP are also available in constant price (chain volume measures). This is to remove the effect of inflation and capture the real value of tourism services.

Since the 2013–14 issue, the TSA also includes estimates for hours worked (as a proxy for labour productivity).

Notes on the conceptual framework

The TSA framework was jointly developed by these organisations

• Commission of the European Communities
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
• United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
• World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).

The framework was approved by the United Nations (UN) Statistical Commission (EUROSTAT et al. 2000). It has been revised in UNWTO (2008) and  Tourism Satellite Accounts: Recommended Methodological Framework  (2008).

The framework has been widely applied in Australia and internationally, so the recommended methodology for TSAs is not reproduced in this report.

Changes in this issue

• Revisions of the source data and estimation methods of a selection of tourism products and industries have also been included. This is to refine and improve estimates of tourism consumption, output and value added. Refer to  ABS TSA 5249.0  for details on these changes.

Methodology and glossary

The  Australian TSA methodology with glossary of terms  are on the ABS website.

Contact TRA

mail   tourism.research@tra.gov.au

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Regional Visitor Strategy

South australian regional visitor strategy 2025.

South Australia’s tourism regions have a bold plan to grow the state’s regional visitor expenditure to $4.0 Billion by 2025.

The South Australian Regional Visitor Strategy 2025 (released March 2021) outlines priority action areas set by the state’s 11 tourism regions after extensive consultation involving more than 800 stakeholders.

As the industry navigates through the challenges of a global pandemic, the strategy sets an ambitious target to keep the regional tourism momentum going and keep the industry strong for the more than 24,000 South Australians it employs.

The 2025 RVS builds on the success of the 2020 strategy (the first of its kind), which saw the then regional tourism target of $3.55 billion by December 2020 met and exceeded more than one year early.

Initiated by regional tourism organisations through the Regional Tourism Chairs Forum and led by Helen Edwards as Chair of the Regional Visitor Strategy steering committee, the strategy is a collaboration involving stakeholders from tourism operators to Local Government Association of South Australia, Regional Development Australia South Australia, Tourism Industry Council SA, and the South Australian Tourism Commission. It is a strategy developed by the regions, for the regions. 

The 2025 RVS outlines eight strategic pillars that apply across regions, critical to the success of SA’s visitor economy. Each of the 11 tourism regions has a set of regional response priorities which serve as an action plan for the RVS steering committee to work with regional tourism organisations, local councils and key stakeholders to drive outcomes.  

View the South Australian Regional Visitor Strategy 2025 . 

Latest progress snapshots of the SA Regional Visitor Strategy 2025 (released May 2023):

• Regional South Australia
• Adelaide Hills
• Clare Valley
• Eyre Peninsula
• Fleurieu Peninsula
• Flinders Ranges & Outback
• Kangaroo Island
• Limestone Coast
• Murray River, Lakes & Coorong
• Yorke Peninsula

DOWNLOAD AVAILABLE BELOW

STRATEGY: South Australian Regional Visitor Strategy 2025 (February 2021; updated May 2022)

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South Australian Regional Visitor Strategy Progress Snapshot

Find out how South Australia is tracking against the targets set in the Regional Visitor Strategy (released May 2023).

• 2.4 MB

South Australian Regional Visitor Strategy 2020

STRATEGY: South Australian Regional Visitor Strategy 2020 (released May 2018)

• 4.5 MB

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Tourism and transport

Overseas arrivals and departures, australia.

In February 2024:

• Short-term visitor arrivals: 857,950 – an annual increase of 257,240 trips
• Short-term resident returns: 775,630 – an annual increase of 136,060 trips
• Total arrivals: 1,786,650 – an annual increase of 411,140 
• Total departures: 1,491,730 – an annual increase of 423,320

Transport: Census

• The average number of motor vehicles per household is 1.8.

673,969 households don’t have a motor vehicle, primarily amongst lone households.

91 per cent of households (91.3 per cent) reported having at least one vehicle and more than half (55.1 per cent) reported having two or more vehicles.

Cars continued to be the most popular mode of transport to get to work in every state and territory. 52.7 per cent (6,347,498 people) of the Australian workforce drove to work by car only, compared to 61.5 per cent (6,574,571 people) in 2016. 

Using trains as the sole mode of transport to get to work decreased from 488,012 in 2016 to 170,326 in 2021. 

2.5 per cent of people (306,045) walked to work. Northern Territory had the highest proportion of people who walked to work at 7.6 per cent (8,115 people).

Of the 12 million people employed on Census day, 2.5 million people (21.0 per cent) worked from home, compared to 500,000 (4.7 per cent) in 2016. 1.4 million people (11.8 per cent) didn’t go to work on Census day, compared to 1 million people (9.4 per cent) in 2016.

Overseas Travel Statistics, Provisional

Provisional estimates of overseas trips in June 2021 show:

• A total of 103,500 arrivals
• 40,500 Australian citizens arrivals (39%), 9,100 permanent visa holders (9%), 43,800 New Zealand citizens (42%) and 10,900 temporary visa holders (11%)
• A total of 99,500 departures

Motor Vehicle Census, Australia

• There were 20.1 million registered motor vehicles as at 31 January 2021.
• The national fleet increased by 1.7% from 2020 to 2021.
• Toyota topped the list of passenger vehicles for the 16th consecutive year with 3.0 million registrations.
• Diesel vehicles increased to 26.4% of the national fleet, up from 20.9% in 2016.

Survey of Motor Vehicle Use, Australia

• 19,768,518 estimated number of vehicles
• 238,499 million kilometres travelled, an average of 12.1 thousand kilometres per vehicle
• 33,019 megalitres of fuel consumed
• 223,949 million tonne-kilometres of freight moved

Sales of New Motor Vehicles

Contains monthly information on sales of new motor vehicles in each state/territory sourced from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries

Tourist Accommodation, Australia

This release contains information on the supply of, and demand for, tourist accommodation facilities

Tourist Accommodation, Small Area Data, Australia

Information on the supply and demand for tourist accommodation facilities including number of establishments and occupancy by type and star rating

Australia’s journey to work

Electric passenger vehicle use, experimental estimates, visitor arrivals - calendar year - 2020, microdata and tablebuilder, view available microdata and tablebuilder.

We can provide access to detailed, customisable data on selected topics.

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News Center > Thought Leadership

Nielsen data reveals australia’s top travel trends and the brands spending big to attract aussie tourists, 4 minute read | april 2024.

• Industry’s biggest ad spenders revealed as travel marketing budgets jump 8% quarter-on-quarter
• Top local and overseas destinations revealed
• Most popular Aussie travel websites
• The winners and losers of the frequent flyer war

Sydney – April 30 , 2024 – As many Australians return from a much-needed retreat over the recent school holiday break, millions are already planning their next getaway, embracing travel rewards schemes, while being wooed by travel brands spending millions to get their business.

Nielsen Consumer & Media View (CMV) data shows that 76% of Aussies plan on travelling domestically in the next 12 months, while more than half (52%) have their eye on an overseas destination.

Top domestic destinations

Younger Aussies (25 to 39) are the most likely to be bitten by the domestic travel bug, with 78% planning to holiday locally in the next 12 months. Sydney narrowly beats Melbourne as the preferred place to visit, followed by The Gold Coast, Regional NSW, then Brisbane.

Top overseas destinations

The even younger 18 to 24 age group are the most likely to travel overseas, with 58% planning to travel abroad in the coming year. The UK tops the list of desired OS destinations, followed by New Zealand, Japan, The USA and Indonesia.

While most Aussies are looking for a beach getaway when it comes to staying close to home, they prefer a trip involving plenty of sightseeing, followed by some rest and relaxation, once they leave the country.

Top travel websites

Data from Nielsen Digital Content Ratings (DCR) saw Qantas claim top spot when it comes to travel websites, followed by Trip Advisor with 5.82 million and 5.02 million users respectively in Q1 of this year. Booking Holdings Network was the third-largest platform in terms of users with 2.5 million.

Average user engagement time on most travel platforms was also consistent from Q4 2023 to Q1 2024, although Royal Caribbean Cruises and  Anytrip.com.au  led the pack. On average, Royal Caribbean users spent roughly 29 minutes interacting with the platform, while Anytrip users spent almost 27 minutes on the platform.

Top frequent flyer programs

The number of Australians who are members of a frequent flyer program also increased, with 57% of all Australian consumers now part of some sort of travel rewards scheme. Qantas remains the market leader with a 45% share of the market, followed by Virgin (31%), and other smaller players making up the remaining 24%.

Top travel advertisers

In addition, Nielsen Ad Intel data also shows that the travel and tourism industry spent more than $153 million on advertising in Australia in Q1, 2024 – an increase of 8% from the previous quarter, with TripADeal the biggest spender, followed by Virgin Australia, then the Flight Centre-owned Ignite Travel. 

Nielsen Ad Intel’s Australia Commercial Lead, Rose Lopreiato, said: “Australians’ love of travel continues to defy cost of living pressures, as shown by an 8% jump in travel ad spend this quarter. You can’t get a stronger indicator than that when it comes to how marketers and advertisers are spending in order to maximise ROI, forge lasting connections with brands and consumers, and do so in the most economical way possible. From competitive ad spend analysis, to knowing what your competitors are saying in market and the deals and offers you’re up against, Ad Intel helps you understand which ads are driving your competitors spend and where”.

Glenn Channel, Nielsen’s Pacific Head of Advanced Analytics added: “More than ever, brands need data that gives them the edge on their competition. That means going above standard demographic information, and understanding consumers, in this case travellers, as unique groups, who are motivated by more than just the urge to get away. Nielsen CMV enables brands to see consumers through an advanced audience lens, delivering a more holistic picture of behaviours and preferences with surprising linkages and purchase triggers that other consumer insight providers can’t match.”

About Nielsen

Nielsen shapes the world’s media and content as a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics. Through our understanding of people and their behaviours across all channels and platforms, we empower our clients with independent and actionable intelligence so they can connect and engage with their audiences – now and into the future. Nielsen operates around the world in more than 55 countries. 

Learn more at www.nielsen.com and connect with us on social media (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram). 

Media Contact

Dan Chapman Assoc. Director, Communications, Nielsen APAC [email protected] +61 404 088 462

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School struggle to cope with racism against Indigenous students by peers prompting calls for more research

At just 12 years old, Emily* feels "embarrassed and upset" about her Indigenous heritage after more than a year of bullying at an eastern Victorian secondary school.

She moved from Queensland to regional Victoria in late 2022 and has since been racially abused by multiple students including peers and friends.

It's been a repeating cycle of Emily reporting the racism to Maffra Secondary College staff, who then ask the offending student to write a letter of apology, which is read out to Emily directly, followed by a suspension.

"[The slurs] are really hurtful because coloured people, brown coloured people, have feelings as well so it's not just the white kids that matter, it's everyone," Emily said.

"But I don't know if an apology is enough because my grandad wants them to read it out in front of the whole class so the class goes. 'Oop, well, we better not be racist.'"

Emily told the ABC she managed to find joy in seeing her school friends, but expected the cycle to continue.

"I'm fine now, like, I do love school, seeing my friends and everything's kind of going good," she said.

"No-one has been racist to me for about three weeks."

Emily's older sister Grace* is just 14 years old.

She's concerned for Emily's wellbeing and often stands between Grace and those bullying her.

"It makes me so mad but upset at the same time because she's only 12, like kids her age and just a year or two above, they shouldn't be saying that kind of stuff," she said.

"Sometimes I just don't want to go to school because you never know when the next person is going to make a comment.

"It just hurts so much."

More action needed

The girls live with their grandparents, who have been facilitating meetings with school staff and the education department, pushing for more action to be taken to reduce racism.

Grandfather David Lang said he had lost trust in the school and its handling of the conflict.

"I thought OK, you're dealing with it, I had confidence in the system and then probably on average, I'd say about seven, eight weeks after that, [there is] another incident," Mr Lang said.

"They just kept giving me the same rhetoric, and I understand the school have guidelines to follow, I'm not questioning that, what I'm questioning is they're not open minded to listening to other possible remedies.

"Something else they can put in place to try to alleviate the amount of times it's happening."

Mr Lang said offending students needed to be held accountable publicly for any racist behaviour to prevent other students from being racist.

"In the school's eyes the plans are working because they haven't reoffended and that's terrific but I don't think the messages are being sent to the rest of the school community," he said.

"Because if it was, the other four or five kids would have thought twice about doing it."

More than half the students at Maffra Secondary College are in the bottom quarter of socio-educational advantage and 4 per cent of the school's students are Indigenous.

The Department of Education is working with Maffra Secondary College to ensure the school was making use of the department's programs and resources.

"Maffra Secondary College takes any complaint or incident involving racism extremely seriously and has responded promptly," a department spokesperson said.

"The school runs a dedicated program to support Koorie students and build students' understanding of our rich Indigenous history."

Indigenous exclusion

Emily is one example of a wider problem seen across Australia, throughout multiple generations.

The National Indigenous Youth Education Coalition's School Exclusion Project research report explores how government schools across Australia have excluded Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people between now and the 19th century.

It highlighted the need to focus on the contemporary and historical exclusions to address ongoing educational discrimination and disadvantage, given 6.5 per cent of all expulsions were directed at First Nations students, despite representing only 2.3 per cent of the student population.

Australian National University centre for social research and methods Naomi Priest said schools were "microcosms" of wider society and needed to plant the seeds for wider change in communities.

"It needs to be that really deeply sustained cultural change within systems, within schools and within communities," Professor Priest said.

"Kids, students are only playing out what they see in the media, what they see in wider society.

"But schools absolutely have a mandate to ensure that schools are free of racism and that requires action from leadership, from teachers and from the department."

Professor Priest was the lead researcher in the Speak Out Against Racism (SOAR) project, a school-based study on racism, racial discrimination and bystander responses to racism.

SOAR consisted of a survey on the experiences and attitudes of students in New South Wales and Victorian government schools between years 5 and 9, and their teachers, as well as a bystander intervention program in six primary schools across the two states.

The survey revealed more than 40 per cent of students from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds and from ethnic minority backgrounds had been racially discriminated against by their peers, while many teachers felt underprepared to respond to racism in the classroom.

Professor Priest said the project involved training school teachers, auditing the curriculum and policies, and student-led work.

"With the hope that if we are teaching children these attitudes and behaviours — and early — that they can yet be part of that generational change," she said.

More research needed

Professor Priest said more money needed to be invested into research to collect more data on racism to ensure the most evidence-based approaches were being used and to pinpoint hotspots.

"We need data collected in partnership with communities so that we can … find out where the hotspots are," she said.

"Racism is everywhere, absolutely, but there are likely places where it is more pronounced."

Sheree Lowe is the executive director of The Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation's Balit Durn Durn Centre.

The Djab Wurrung and Gunditjmara woman said racism perpetuated cycles of disadvantage and exacerbated trauma.

"Experiencing racism during a child's crucial foundation years can hinder a student's ability to study, and lead to an individual disengaging from the education system completely," Ms Lowe said.

"Disengaging at a young age can see children miss out on vaccinations, access to GPs in schools, and vital mental health supports.

"This has flow-on effects later in life, creating obstacles to accessing meaningful employment, and quality housing."

Ms Lowe said some Victorian schools were making a genuine effort through the changing of place names to First Nations language and teaching indigenous language.

"If we expand these fantastic initiatives across the state we will make great strides towards making schools safer and more inclusive spaces for all," she said.

* Pseudonyms have been used to protect the identities of children in this article.

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