Further evidence that travel is booming with a major report revealing a significant uptick in international tourism last year.
The Tourism Research Australia annual Benchmark Report has just been released, containing some important findings:
# There was an increase of nearly one million international trips in 2024
# 3.2 million people came for a holiday and more than a third of trips were to regional Australia
# International visitors to Tasmania jumped 25% year-on-year and the Northern Territory is up 18%.
“After years of global uncertainty, it’s incredibly heartening to see more than eight million international visitors choosing Australia in 2024,” said Tourism Minister Don Farrell.
“More tourists touching down in Australia means more jobs in our cafes, hotels, tour companies and right across the travel and tourism industry, from our cities to our regions.
“We know that Australia is the best country in the world and we’re seeing real momentum now, which is a testament to the work of industry, governments and the amazing people who work in the sector.”
There are more than 360,000 tourism-related businesses in Australia (that’s one in seven businesses) and around 713,000 jobs are tourism-related.
“Tourism is a major economic engine, contributing significantly to our GDP and creating flow-on benefits across transport, retail and hospitality,” added Mr Farrell.
“It speaks volumes about our global standing and the hard work of our tourism sector.
“We also want to see Aussies supporting our tourism sector by holidaying at home, whether it’s a night in a regional hotel, a meal at a local restaurant, or a tour of our natural wonders.”
