Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released today for accommodation in the June quarter show that businesses across the board are benefiting from a boost in customers and profits.
In the 2010 June quarter takings from hotels and motels with more than 15 rooms were up almost six per cent compared with the June quarter 2009 and the room occupancy rate rose by almost two per cent to 60.9 per cent.
Yield per available room was up more than five per cent nationally with the ACT (up 16.5 per cent) and NSW (up 9.3 per cent) leading growth.
New South Wales had the highest accommodation takings for the June Quarter at $622 million followed by Queensland with $502 million, while the average length of stay was highest in Queensland (2.6 days) and Western Australia (2.5 days).
The Minister for Tourism, Martin Ferguson AM MP, welcomed the results, underlining how important the sector is for Australia's economy both in metropolitan and regional Australia.
"These figures are good news for Australia's $33 billion tourism industry signalling the sector's continued recovery following a difficult trading period during the Global Financial Crisis," Minister Ferguson said.
"Compared with this time last year, tourism is in much better shape. By July this year the industry had recovered to a point were we had a new all time year end high of 5.74 million international arrivals.
"I expect this positive trend to continue following Tourism Australia's coup to bring the Oprah Winfrey Show to Australia, with tourism accommodation providers set to reap the benefits it will deliver.
"The media coverage this announcement has already generated equates to a $17 million advertising investment and the exposure Australia has gained internationally is priceless.
"The Government's continued investments in international and domestic marketing to further stimulate growth in Australia's tourism sector are supported by a solid focus on supply side.
"The National Long Term Tourism Strategy has identified reinvestment to upgrade accommodation stock has been identified as a priority.
"This is why the Australian Government is investing $5.5 million over four years to implement and operate the National Tourism Accreditation Framework to strengthen Australia's tourism industry and encourage businesses to upgrade and refresh their offering.
"Assuring the quality of Australia's tourism products through accreditation is essential to providing tourists with confidence and will position Australian tourism for long-term health and success."