Business drives international visitor spending surge
The Australian tourism industry’s focus on high yield tourists has paid dividends, generating an additional $380 million for the economy in the March quarter 2007 compared to the same period last year, says peak industry group TTF Australia (Tourism & Transport Forum).
The latest International Visitor Survey from Tourism Australia shows that total expenditure by international visitors in the first three months of 2007 was $4.5 billion, an increase of 9.3% on the March quarter 2006.
TTF Managing Director Christopher Brown said the spike in expenditure was driven in part by international business visitors, who spent $423 million, 28% more than they did in the first three months of 2006.
“TTF has argued strongly that the tourism industry and Governments must target these big-spending business visitors.”
“Australia’s position as a business events centre has slipped significantly in the last decade, while many competitors in the Asia Pacific region have been making gains.”
“With the fast-growing economies of Asia becoming increasingly accessible, now is the time to press Australia’s case as a world-class business destination.”
Mr Brown said that the broader picture from the IVS was healthy, with growth in expenditure from Asia in the March quarter particularly encouraging.
“With the exception of Indonesia and the troublesome Japanese market, visitors from Asia were the star performers.
“Korean visitors led the way, spending $303 million in the March quarter – 22% more than they did in the March quarter last year.
“Visitors from Singapore were not far behind, spending $213 million, up 19% on 2006.
“Visitors from China, Malaysia and Hong Kong also contributed strongly, and the key growth market of India yielded 24% more in the March quarter 2007 than in the same period in 2006.
“The drop-off in both visitor nights and expenditure from the USA is a worry, but overall these results are testament to the industry’s success in attracting not just more visitors to Australia, but bigger spending ones.”
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
France prepares for a massive strike across all transports on September 18
Turkish tourism stalls due to soaring prices for accommodation and food
CCS Insight: eSIMs ready to take the travel world by storm
Germany new European Entry/Exit System limited to a single airport on October 12, 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt