That was the conclusion of the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) following the release of the June quarter International Visitor Survey (IVS) by Tourism Research Australia.
Headline results for year-on-year inbound holiday visitation show Australia welcomed 3.3 million holiday trips, up 7% on June 2024, but 10% below June 2019.
The encouraging news is that holidaymakers spent $13.0 billion in Australia, up 27% year-on-year and 22% higher than 2019.
“Overall, the IVS shows a healthy rebound with visitors staying longer, spending more and pushing holiday expenditure well above pre-COVID benchmarks, which is encouraging for operators right across the country,” said Peter Shelley, ATEC Managing Director.
“However, the numbers don’t tell the full story, with the volume of international visitors arriving for a holiday remaining around 10% below 2019.
“The good news is that the value of international holiday spending is up compared to 2019, highlighting that while we have fewer holiday makers arriving, they are spending more and we are certainly moving in the right direction.”
Our top five markets for June quarter by average spend per holiday reveal:
# New Zealand remains the largest holiday source market collectively spending $412m with an average spend per holiday trip of $3,237
# United Kingdom visitors were the highest spending holidaymakers, spending a total of $225m, an average of $7,282 per trip
# United States visitors were similar in number compared to last year, spending $309m for the quarter at an average of $5,186 per holiday.
# Meanwhile, China has recovered to become the second-largest holiday source market, with a collective spend of $321m, and an average individual spend of $4,557 per trip.
“These results underline the reality of our sector that yield matters, and we need to keep investing in markets where every additional visitor delivers the greatest return,” Mr Shelley added.
ATEC is focused on supporting the recovery of high-yielding holiday travellers into the future.
To achieve this, ATEC is advocating for competitive flight costs, welcoming visa policies, as well as a quality workforce which can deliver value for money service standards to all international visitors.
