australia tourism statistics 2021

Our Organisation

Our Careers

Tourism Statistics

Industry Resources

Media Resources

Travel Trade Hub

News Stories

Newsletters

Industry Events

Business Events

Tourism statistics

• Share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on WhatsApp Copy Link

Explore the research that Tourism Australia provides to consumers and industry.

• International statistics
• Domestic statistics

International performance

Aviation data

International tourism snapshot

International travel sentiment tracker

Domestic performance

Domestic travel sentiment tracker

Subscribe to our Industry newsletter

Discover more.

We use cookies on this site to enhance your user experience. Find out more .

By clicking any link on this page you are giving your consent for us to set cookies.

Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the Traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Owners of the land, sea and waters of the Australian continent, and recognise their custodianship of culture and Country for over 60,000 years.

*Disclaimer:  The information on this website is presented in good faith and on the basis that Tourism Australia, nor their agents or employees, are liable (whether by reason of error, omission, negligence, lack of care or otherwise) to any person for any damage or loss whatsoever which has occurred or may occur in relation to that person taking or not taking (as the case may be) action in respect of any statement, information or advice given in this website. Tourism Australia wishes to advise people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent that this website may contain images of persons now deceased.

Subscribe to updates

First Name *

Please choose at least one newsletter * Talking Tourism eNewsletter This is WA eNewsletter

• Accessibility

{{curatedHeading.Title}}

• {{curatedContentLinkItem.Title}}
• Reset text size
• Increase text size
• Visitor statistics

To view the interactive charts below in full screen mode, click  the arrow symbol in the bottom right corner of the chart.

L atest IVS and NVS Results

This factsheet tells the story of visitation to Western Australia in the year ending December 2023, including a comparison against pre-COVID levels. 

Download the latest Overview of Visitation to Western Australia - YE December 2023

Tourism Research Australia publish additional results and data tables on their website. To access this data visit Tourism Research Australia's  Data and Research  page.  Details on the IVS and NVS methodologies can also be found on Tourism Research Australia's Methodology page.

On 22 December 2021, Tourism WA amended our definition of spend. For more details, please see the Changing Visitor Spend factsheet.

Latest tourism statistics

• Economic contribution of tourism
• Useful links

Last Reviewed: 2024-03-27

Acknowledgement of Country Tourism Western Australia acknowledges Aboriginal peoples as the traditional custodians of Western Australia and pay our respects to Elders past and present. We celebrate the diversity of Aboriginal West Australians and honour their continuing connection to Country, culture and community. We recognise and appreciate the invaluable contributions made by First Nations peoples across many generations in shaping Western Australia as a premier destination.

• Travel to Western Australia

All contents copyright © Government of Western Australia. All rights reserved.

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.

• Travel, Tourism & Hospitality ›
• Leisure Travel

Industry-specific and extensively researched technical data (partially from exclusive partnerships). A paid subscription is required for full access.

Breakdown of tourism spend in Australia 2009-2019, by travel segment

Breakdown of tourism spend in australia from 2009 to 2019, by travel segment (in billion australian dollars).

• Immediate access to 1m+ statistics
• Incl. source references
• Download as PNG, PDF, XLS, PPT

Additional Information

Show sources information Show publisher information Use Ask Statista Research Service

2009 to 2019

One Australian dollar is equal to 0.62 Euro and 0.73 U.S. dollars (as of August 2021).

Other statistics on the topic

Travel, Tourism & Hospitality

Travel and tourism's total contribution to GDP in Ireland 2019-2022

Number of domestic tourist trips in Ireland 2012-2022

Travel and tourism's total contribution to employment in Ireland 2019-2022

Art & Culture

Most visited paid tourist attractions in Ireland 2021, by attendance

To download this statistic in XLS format you need a Statista Account

To download this statistic in PNG format you need a Statista Account

To download this statistic in PDF format you need a Statista Account

To download this statistic in PPT format you need a Statista Account

As a Premium user you get access to the detailed source references and background information about this statistic.

As a Premium user you get access to background information and details about the release of this statistic.

As soon as this statistic is updated, you will immediately be notified via e-mail.

… to incorporate the statistic into your presentation at any time.

You need at least a Starter Account to use this feature.

• Immediate access to statistics, forecasts & reports
• Usage and publication rights
• Download in various formats

You only have access to basic statistics. This statistic is not included in your account.

• Instant access  to 1m statistics
• Download  in XLS, PDF & PNG format
• Detailed  references

Business Solutions including all features.

Other statistics that may interest you

• Outbound tourist expenditure from Turkey Q1 2017-Q4 2022
• Share of inbound tourist spending in Hungary 2023, by type of expense
• Average spend per visit of tourists from China in the United Kingdom (UK) 2004-2019
• Average spend per night of tourists from China in the United Kingdom (UK) 2004-2019
• Share of tourism sector GDP contribution in the United Kingdom (UK) 2013
• Tax contribution from inbound tourism in the UK 2010-2013
• Revenue from tourism in China 2012-2022
• Number of international tourist trips in Poland 2021-2022, by month
• Number of inbound tourist trips to Poland 2020-2022, by purpose
• Age of inbound tourists visiting Poland in 2022
• Tourism sector employment Australia FY 2023, by state and type
• International leisure travel visitor arrivals in Australia 2011-2021
• International visitor trip expenditure Australia FY 2010-2023
• Average trip expenditure of international visitors Australia FY 2010-2020
• Visitor spending by country in Victoria in Australia 2019
• Total trip expenditure of international visitors Australia 2018 by reason
• Average trip expenditure of international visitors Australia 2017 by reason
• Distribution of population who have travelled overseas Australia 2016 by age
• Direct foreign tourist arrivals from Australia to Bali, Indonesia 2009-2023
• Number of domestic overnight visitors Australia 2023, by state visited
• Contribution of China's travel and tourism industry to GDP 2014-2023
• Number of international tourist arrivals APAC 2019, by country or region
• Music tourist spending at concerts and festivals in the United Kingdom (UK) 2012-2016
• Growth of inbound spending in the U.S. using foreign visa credit cards
• Spending of inbound tourist trips to Poland 2020-2022, by country of residence
• Distribution of travel and tourism expenditure in Malta 2019-2022, by tourist type
• Global international tourism receipts 2006-2022
• Travel & tourism GDP direct contribution share in South Korea 2017, by travel type
• Distribution of travel and tourism expenditure in the UK 2019-2022, by tourist type
• Distribution of travel and tourism expenditure in Turkey 2019-2022, by tourist type
• International tourism spending in Italy 2019-2022
• Hunting and fishing tourism share of total U.S. tourist spending in Canada 2001-2010
• Distribution of travel and tourism expenditure in Greece 2019-2022, by tourist type
• International tourism receipts in Denmark 2019-2021
• Number of domestic overnight visitors Australia 2023, by purpose of visit
• Domestic visitor trip expenditure Australia 2023, by activity
• Domestic visitor trip expenditure Australia 2023, by regional capital
• Number of tourism businesses Australia 2023, by state
• Number of tourism businesses Australia 2022, by size
• Tourism contribution Australia FY 2023, by state
• Number of domestic day visitors Australia FY 2013-2023, by purpose of visit
• Number of tourism businesses Australia 2023, by type
• Direct tourism GDP growth rate Australia FY 2006-2023
• Tourism contribution Australia FY 2023, by industry

Other statistics that may interest you Statistics on

About the industry

• Premium Statistic Outbound tourist expenditure from Turkey Q1 2017-Q4 2022
• Premium Statistic Share of inbound tourist spending in Hungary 2023, by type of expense
• Premium Statistic Average spend per visit of tourists from China in the United Kingdom (UK) 2004-2019
• Premium Statistic Average spend per night of tourists from China in the United Kingdom (UK) 2004-2019
• Basic Statistic Share of tourism sector GDP contribution in the United Kingdom (UK) 2013
• Basic Statistic Tax contribution from inbound tourism in the UK 2010-2013
• Premium Statistic Revenue from tourism in China 2012-2022
• Premium Statistic Number of international tourist trips in Poland 2021-2022, by month
• Premium Statistic Number of inbound tourist trips to Poland 2020-2022, by purpose
• Premium Statistic Age of inbound tourists visiting Poland in 2022

About the region

• Premium Statistic Tourism sector employment Australia FY 2023, by state and type
• Premium Statistic International leisure travel visitor arrivals in Australia 2011-2021
• Premium Statistic International visitor trip expenditure Australia FY 2010-2023
• Premium Statistic Average trip expenditure of international visitors Australia FY 2010-2020
• Premium Statistic Visitor spending by country in Victoria in Australia 2019
• Premium Statistic Total trip expenditure of international visitors Australia 2018 by reason
• Premium Statistic Average trip expenditure of international visitors Australia 2017 by reason
• Premium Statistic Distribution of population who have travelled overseas Australia 2016 by age
• Premium Statistic Direct foreign tourist arrivals from Australia to Bali, Indonesia 2009-2023
• Premium Statistic Number of domestic overnight visitors Australia 2023, by state visited

Selected statistics

• Basic Statistic Contribution of China's travel and tourism industry to GDP 2014-2023
• Premium Statistic Number of international tourist arrivals APAC 2019, by country or region
• Premium Statistic Music tourist spending at concerts and festivals in the United Kingdom (UK) 2012-2016
• Basic Statistic Growth of inbound spending in the U.S. using foreign visa credit cards

Other regions

• Premium Statistic Spending of inbound tourist trips to Poland 2020-2022, by country of residence
• Basic Statistic Distribution of travel and tourism expenditure in Malta 2019-2022, by tourist type
• Premium Statistic Global international tourism receipts 2006-2022
• Basic Statistic Travel & tourism GDP direct contribution share in South Korea 2017, by travel type
• Basic Statistic Distribution of travel and tourism expenditure in the UK 2019-2022, by tourist type
• Basic Statistic Distribution of travel and tourism expenditure in Turkey 2019-2022, by tourist type
• Basic Statistic International tourism spending in Italy 2019-2022
• Basic Statistic Hunting and fishing tourism share of total U.S. tourist spending in Canada 2001-2010
• Basic Statistic Distribution of travel and tourism expenditure in Greece 2019-2022, by tourist type
• Basic Statistic International tourism receipts in Denmark 2019-2021

Related statistics

• Premium Statistic Number of domestic overnight visitors Australia 2023, by purpose of visit
• Premium Statistic Domestic visitor trip expenditure Australia 2023, by activity
• Premium Statistic Domestic visitor trip expenditure Australia 2023, by regional capital
• Premium Statistic Number of tourism businesses Australia 2023, by state
• Premium Statistic Number of tourism businesses Australia 2022, by size
• Premium Statistic Tourism contribution Australia FY 2023, by state
• Premium Statistic Number of domestic day visitors Australia FY 2013-2023, by purpose of visit
• Premium Statistic Number of tourism businesses Australia 2023, by type
• Basic Statistic Direct tourism GDP growth rate Australia FY 2006-2023
• Basic Statistic Tourism contribution Australia FY 2023, by industry

Further related statistics

• Premium Statistic Countries with the highest number of inbound tourist arrivals worldwide 2019-2022
• Premium Statistic Countries with the highest outbound tourism expenditure worldwide 2019-2022
• Premium Statistic Change in number of visitors from Mexico to the U.S. 2018-2024
• Premium Statistic International tourist arrivals in Europe 2006-2023
• Premium Statistic Annual revenue of China Tourism Group Duty Free 2013-2023
• Basic Statistic Number of international tourist arrivals in India 2010-2021
• Basic Statistic International tourism receipts of India 2011-2022
• Basic Statistic Revenue share from tourism in India 2013-2022, by segment
• Premium Statistic Ethical personal products: spending in the United Kingdom (UK) 2011-2021
• Premium Statistic Leading countries in the MEA in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index 2018

Further Content: You might find this interesting as well

• Countries with the highest number of inbound tourist arrivals worldwide 2019-2022
• Countries with the highest outbound tourism expenditure worldwide 2019-2022
• Change in number of visitors from Mexico to the U.S. 2018-2024
• International tourist arrivals in Europe 2006-2023
• Annual revenue of China Tourism Group Duty Free 2013-2023
• Number of international tourist arrivals in India 2010-2021
• International tourism receipts of India 2011-2022
• Revenue share from tourism in India 2013-2022, by segment
• Ethical personal products: spending in the United Kingdom (UK) 2011-2021
• Leading countries in the MEA in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index 2018

Australian Travel Statistics

Australian tourism statistics.

Page last updated: 16 October 2023

Table of Contents

How many tourists visit Australia each year?

• 2019 still holds the record for the highest number of visitors, with over 9.5 million travelling to Australia during that period (year ending June 2019)
• Despite seeing steady growth, visitor numbers are still 42% lower than those during the all-time peak
• Data for the 2021 period has not been seasonally adjusted

Who visited Australia in 2023?

• The top five visitor markets in 2023 were New Zealand, the UK, the USA, India, and Singapore
• China, previously one of the top visitor markets for Australia, has seen a decline in visitors during the post-pandemic period with only 235,000 visits over the 12 months ending in June 2023

How much did international visitors spend in 2023?

• International visitors spent over $34 billion during trips to Australia in 2023 (year ending June 2023)
• Spending was up 391% when compared to the over $7 billion spent during 2022
• Spending is down 22.8% when compared with the over $44.6 billion spent during pre-pandemic 2019
• Complete data is not available for 2021 due to low reporting numbers

Who spent the most in Australia in 2023?

• Chinese were the top spenders at over $4.1 billion (year ending June 2023)
• The top five spenders were China, the USA, the UK, New Zealand, and India

How many tourists visited Australia in 2022?

• In March 2020, Australia closed its international borders to all non-residents
• From August 2020 – September 2021, visitors to Australia were at an all-time low, with only 155,579 international travellers visiting during that time
• Australia began to reopen its borders in November 2021, with a complete lifting of travel restrictions taking place in July 2022
• Numbers are still significantly low when compared with the pre-covid period. For the year ending September 2019, Australia received a total of over 8.6 million international visitors

Who visited Australia in 2022?

• The top five international markets for Australia in 2022 were: New Zealand, India, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and the USA
• China, previously one of the top sources of international visitors to Australia, fell out of the top five in 2022, with only just over 62 thousand making the trip
• While seeing a significant increase when compared with 2021, numbers are still much lower when compared with the pre-covid period

How much did international tourists spend in Australia in 2022?

• Visitors from China were the top spenders, spending over $1.5 billion during trips to Australia in 2022
• Spending was down 71% when compared with the over $45 billion spent during the pre covid period (year ending September 2019)

How many tourists visited Australia in 2019?

9.3 million tourists visited Australia between July 2018 and June 2019, the highest number ever recorded. 1

How many tourists visited Australia in 2021?

Complete data during the covid period is not available. For the most accurate available 12 month reporting period – over 60,200 people visited Australia between April 2020 and March 2021. Visitors were down 99.3% when compared to the over 8 million visitors of the previous year.

How much did visitors spend in Australia in 2021?

Visitors to Australia spent more than $794 million between April 2020 and March 2021. Spending was down 98.1% when compared to the over $41 billion spent during the previous year.

Visitors from the US spent the most, spending just over $115 million during visits to Australia in 2021.

Who visited Australia in 2021?

Complete data during the covid period is not available. For the most accurate available 12 month reporting period – April 2020 and March 2021 – the highest number of visitors came from New Zealand with over 13,000 making trips during this period.

The top 5 countries from which visitors came to Australia in this period were New Zealand, USA, UK, India and China.

How many people travelled in Australia in 2021?

In the first quarter of 2021 (January-March), Australians made over 24.6 million domestic overnight trips.

• Domestic travel was up 1.1% when compared with the over 24.3 million domestic overnight trips for the first quarter of 2020.

How much did Australians spend travelling in 2021?

• Spending was up 0.4% when compared with the $17.81 billion spent during the first quarter of 2020.

Australian Tourism Statistics 2020

How many tourists visited australia in 2020.

9.3 million tourists visited Australia in 2019 (year ending June 2019). In 2020  the number of international visitors to Australia dropped to 6.7 million due to COVID-19 travel restrictions (year ending June 2020). 1   A further decrease in annual tourism was seen in 2021 (complete data for 2021 is not available due to low reporting numbers).

• In 2020 the number of international visitors to Australia went down by 27% compared to the previous year. This marked a year-on-year decrease of over 2.6 million visits.
• 2019 holds the record for the highest number of travellers visiting Australia in any year up to date.
• The dramatic drop in annual visits in 2020 was caused primarily by the coronavirus pandemic and related travel restrictions introduced in March 2020.
• Australian international tourism spend amounted to $44.6 billion in 2019 and saw a decrease of 25.2% in 2020 to $33.3 billion, significantly impacting the Australian tourism industry.

Who visited Australia in 2020?

• The most visitors to Australia in 2019/2020 came from New Zealand, at just over 1 million.
• For the previous two years, China had been the main source of visitors to Australia.
• The travel ban placed on Chinese visitors in early 2020 as well as the following coronavirus restrictions resulted in a larger relative drop in Chinese visitors than New Zealand visitors in the 2019/2020 year.
• The top 5 markets in 2020 were New Zealand, China, the USA, the UK and Japan
• All five of the top markets saw a large decrease in visitors due to the coronavirus restrictions

Impact of the Coronavirus on International Tourism Expenditure

• Spending was down 25% when compared to the $44.6 billion of the previous year

January 2020 - Bushfire Impact

• In January 2020 approximately 739,600 international visitors travelled to Australia. 4
• International visitor numbers were down 5.1% when compared with the 779,500 of January 2019.
• The drop can be partly attributed to the Australia bushfires crisis of 2019/2020 , impacting  Australian tourism businesses and hospitality sector  even before the COVID-19 crisis .

February 2020 and the Impact of Coronavirus

• February saw a significant decrease in international tourism due to the effects of the coronavirus crisis.
• In February 2020 approximately 647,000 international visitors travelled to Australia.
• International visitors were down 18% when compared with the 796,100 visitors of February 2019.

March 2020 and the Impact of Travel Restrictions

International arrivals in March saw a dramatic decrease, significantly impacting Australia’s tourism industry:

• In March 2020 approximately 307,900 international visitors travelled to Australia which was a 59.9% drop when compared with the 768,200 visitors of March 2019.
• On March 20th, Australia restricted entry to only citizens, residents and their immediate family.
• On March 25th Australian citizens and residents were also banned from travelling overseas.

Impact of the Travel Ban on Chinese Tourists

• In February 2020 visitors arriving from China decreased by 83% compared to the previous year (19,500 arrivals in February 2020 vs 116,900 visitors in February 2019).
• The significant drop was the result of the coronavirus-related travel ban implemented by the Australian government on 1 February for non-citizens travelling from or through China.
• February in the past has historically been the peak period for Chinese visitors to Australia.

Read more: Chinese visitors to Australia statistics

Impact of coronavirus on international visitors to Australia in the second half of 2020

• During that same period the previous year (July – December, 2019) Australia received over 4.9 million international visitors
• For the second half of 2020, international visitors were down 99.3% when compared with 2019

How did the coronavirus affect domestic travel?

• For the same period the previous year (July – December 2019) Australians made over 57 million domestic trips.
• Domestic trips saw a decrease of 33.8% during this time period.
• Despite lower travel volumes during the first part of 2020, domestic trips began to see an increase during the final quarter of the year.

Australia Inbound Travel Statistics for 2019 – International & Domestic Tourism

Who visited australia in 2019.

• The highest number of visitors came from China, at over 1.4 million.

• Up until 2016, New Zealand was the top source of tourist arrivals for Australia, but that spot was then held by China for 2 years.

What were the most popular tourist destinations in Australia in 2019?

• The most popular destination for both international tourism and domestic visitors was Sydney, with over 16 million visitors. 2

How much did international tourists spend in Australia in 2019?

• International tourists spent a total of $44.6 billion in Australia between July 2018 and June 2019. 3
• Chinese were the top spenders at $11.9 billion, nearly triple the amount of the next-highest spenders (Americans at $4 billion).

• International visitors spent an average of $5,183 per trip, an average expenditure of $163 per night.
• Holidaymakers contributed the most overall with $16.9 billion spent.

Which Australian destinations had the highest visitor spend?

• Sydney had the highest visitor spend receiving a combined $19.5 billion from both international and domestic visitors between July 2018 and June 2019.
• Melbourne also ranked high at a combined $17.0 billion.

How long do international tourists spend in Australia?

• Tourists spent 273 million visitor nights in Australia between July 2018 and June 2019.
• The overall average length of stay was 32 nights.

Australia camping & campervan statistics

• The number of camping trips throughout Australia has grown by 27.5% over the 10-year period from 2008 to 2018. 5
• In 2018 over 6.9 million overnight camping trips were made in Australia.
• Camping trips – including caravan, campervan, commercial and non-commercial camping – made up 13.7% of visitor nights for domestic travellers in Australia in 2019 (year ending September)

Other Resources

• Australia campervan hire comparison

Australian Outbound Tourism Statistics for 2019

Where did australian tourists visit in 2019.

• Australian tourists and travellers made over 9.5 million overseas trips in the year ending in June 2019. 4
• The most popular destination was New Zealand, with over 1.2 million trips alone.
• Indonesia (Bali), the US (Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco) and the UK (London, Scotland), were also popular destinations.

Travel Statistics Resources

International tourism - visitor statistics.

• Visitors from China
• Visitors from Hong Kong
• Visitors from India
• Visitors from Japan
• Visitors from Malaysia
• Visitors from New Zealand
• Visitors from Singapore
• Visitors from South Korea
• Visitors from the UK
• Visitors from the USA

Statistics by Location

• Adelaide Statistics
• Brisbane Statistics
• Cairns Statistics
• Darwin Statistics
• Gold Coast Statistics
• Melbourne Statistics
• New South Wales Statistics
• Northern Territory Statistics
• Perth Statistics
• Queensland Statistics  (incl.  Great Barrier Reef )
• South Australia Statistics
• Sydney Statistics
• Tasmania Statistics
• Victoria Statistics  (incl. Great Ocean Road and Twelve Apostles )
• Western Australia Statistics

Global Statistics

• New Zealand Tourism Statistics
• ABS : Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia, June 2020  ↩
• TRA : International Visitor Survey, National Visitor Survey, 2020  ↩
• TRA : International Visitor Survey, Trends 2019, National Visitor Survey, Trends 2020  ↩
• ABS : Arrivals and departures: Visitor arrivals, short term trips (seasonally adjusted) March 2020 ↩
• TTF : Estimated impact of Coronavirus on the Australia visitor economy ↩
• TRA : International Visitor Survey, September 2022 ↩

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

Footer content