Strong growth in tourism over the past few years has seen it overtake industries such as agriculture, mining and manufacturing, contributing $115m a day to the Australian economy.

According to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), tourism grew 3.7% during 2012-13, compared to 2.4% for the economy as a whole.

With the increase, direct tourism added $42bn to Australia’s gross domestic product for the year.

“International tourism was particularly solid, up 5.7% and showed the strongest growth we’ve seen since 2006-07,” said Sean Thompson from the ABS.

“The increase was mostly due to strong growth in the number of international visitors, up 4.9%, while the average spend in Australia on international trips was largely unchanged on the previous year at approximately $4,300 per trip.”

While not as strong as international, domestic tourism was up 3.4% over the past two years.

Despite record numbers of Australians travelling overseas, Australian tourists spent less during overseas trips in 2012-13, down about $200 per trip from 2011-12 to just over $4,540.

The tourism industry employed 543,600 people throughout Australia last financial year, an increase of 11,400, with employment growing at 2.1%, nearly double the rate for the economy as a whole which grew at 1.2%.

Hours worked in tourism increased by 1%, compared with 0.4% overall for the economy, with tourism contributing 8.9% of Australia’s total export earnings in 2012-13.

Deloitte Access Economics has pegged tourism as a “super-growth” sector which could add $250bn to the economy over the next 20 years and help guide Australia out of a post-mining boom flunk.

In recent research, Deloitte predicted that visitors from markets like China, India and Indonesia to more than triple over the next 20 years, with tourism exports to grow from a current $26bn to $57bn in real terms by 2033.

“We need to invest in our airports and ensure conditions are attractive for international airlines, especially low cost carriers,” said Deloitte’s tourism, hospitality and leisure leader Lachlan Smirl.

“Equally, we need to invest in other tourism infrastructure such as hotels and attractions to support and leverage our existing assets.

“Travel is an experience, so we need to optimise this experience with a skilled, professional and ‘Asia-ready’ workforce.”

Source: https://www.mywealth.commbank.com.au