2015-16 International Visitor Survey

A record 7.2 million international visitors arrived in Australia in the year to June 2016, an increase of 10 per cent.

Today I release the International Visitor Survey, produced by Tourism Research Australia, for the 2015-16 financial year, which shows our tourism industry continues to register strong growth and attract record numbers of international visitors.

Australia's tourism industry is currently growing three times as fast as the rest of the Australian economy. International tourists spent $38.1 billion in the financial year, an increase of 14 per cent or $4.7 billion over the year.

Thirteen of Australia's top 20 tourism markets saw record visitor arrivals during the year, including New Zealand, China, the United States, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Germany and Switzerland.

While Australia's tourism industry continues to grow, some figures in this report highlight the need for government and industry to remain focused on attracting high-yielding tourists. Spending by Chinese tourists, for example, increased by one per cent between the June 2015 and June 2016 quarters, compared to a 21 per cent increase between the March 2015 and March 2016 quarters.

The number of backpacker visitors to Australia increased by 2.4 per cent over the year, with mixed results among the states and territories. An additional 14,000 backpacker visitors came to Australia compared to the year prior. While backpacker visitors to the Northern Territory, Queensland and Victoria decreased, Tasmania and the ACT both recorded an increase in visitors exceeding 10 per cent.

The International Visitor Survey is available on the Tourism Research Australia website: www.tra.gov.au