International arrivals to Australia were up 9.4 per cent for the September Quarter 2010 compared with the same period last year, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Overseas Arrivals and Departures figures released today.
Minister for Tourism, Martin Ferguson AM MP, welcomed the results which show that rapid growth in Asian economies is fuelling international inbound arrivals.
The Asia-Pacific region recorded strong growth in visitors with large increases for China (up 47 per cent), Japan (up 34 per cent) and Malaysia (up 29 per cent).
"It is pleasing to see the rise in international inbound travel driven by income growth in Asia, which is offsetting the impact of the high Australian dollar on our price competitiveness," Minister Ferguson said.
"Expanding air capacity for China and Malaysia remains a high priority for the Australian Government to accommodate future growth out of these markets. China continues its record growth and is well on track to becoming Australia's largest source market in terms of tourism exports projected to be valued at $3.4 billion by 2011.
"The Australian Government has been investing heavily in the China market, contributing $30 million towards a range of marketing initiatives to further grow visitor numbers. A further contribution of $4.1 million will extend the highly successful Approved Destination Status Scheme, which encourages leisure group travel from China.
"Japan is Australia's fifth largest tourism market worth $1.15 billion a year. The return to growth of this market will be welcome news to many operators geared for the Japanese leisure market - particularly those in Tropical North Queensland.
"Returning consumer confidence and a domestic recovery in Japan has lead to increasing visitor numbers, which were up by 34 per cent after a few years of decline."
Spending cuts in Europe and stagnated growth in the United States have affected visitor numbers with the United Kingdom (7.1 per cent decrease), United States (6.1 per cent decrease) and Germany (1.0 per cent decrease) all down on the previous year. The strength of the Australian economy saw a rise in outbound travel of 11.8 per cent in the September quarter.
"Tourism Australia will maintain its marketing commitment in these important large markets to ensure Australia remains top of mind when the market returns and to continue to capture our share of leisure and business travel." Minister Ferguson said.
The complete ABS figures are available at www.abs.gov.au