Data released today by Tourism Research Australia shows that domestic tourism in Australia has rebounded from the natural disasters in the early part of 2011.
The National Visitor Survey shows overnight trips for the June quarter 2011 rose by eight per cent while nights rose by five per cent and spending by 12 per cent.
For the year ending June 2011, growth was moderate. Overnight trips were up by four per cent while nights and spending were unchanged.
“In terms of trips and nights this is the best June quarter result since before the global financial crisis,” said the Minister for Tourism, Martin Ferguson AM MP.
“The five per cent increase in business travel for the year has helped businesses to offset the high level of outbound travel.
“While the long-term trend in domestic travel remains a challenge for the Australian tourism industry, these are positive figures.”
Results for the year ending June 2011 show moderate growth in domestic overnight trips for New South Wales (five per cent), Victoria (three per cent), South Australia (two per cent) and Queensland (four per cent) with stronger growth for Western Australia (10 per cent).
Weaker results were recorded for the Northern Territory (down by 11 per cent), Tasmania (down by four per cent) and the ACT (down by 13 per cent).
In Queensland, overnight trips for the June quarter 2011 were up by 10 per cent and nights by nine per cent. Intrastate travel is leading the growth in Queensland with trips up by 13 per cent and nights by 10 per cent.
The Minister Assisting on Tourism, Senator Nick Sherry, said the figures for travel within Queensland were encouraging, given the massive set-backs at the start of the year.
“A strong intrastate result for Queensland is important to its recovery. After all, the majority of the loss – almost 90 per cent – to the tourism industry in that state in the March quarter 2011 was due to falls in intrastate travel.
“The tourism industry support package for Queensland was money well-spent,” Minister Sherry said.
Tourism Research Australia’s National Visitor Survey is at www.ret.gov.au/tra