National Tourism Council | Tourism and the Visitor Economy 2016 Election Policy

The visitor economy is one of the brightest lights on Australia’s economic horizon, domestic and international tourism along with business travel and events provide jobs creating better living standards for nearly one million people, almost one in twelve jobs.  The sector makes a $100 billion contribution to our national economy (3% of GDP) and it’s projected to grow by more than 4% per year, boosting national income and providing more than 123,000 additional jobs (figures from Tourism Research Australia).

Australia is well placed for even greater growth, well positioned for the massive expansion of the Chinese outbound market and the huge potential of the Indonesian and Indian markets.  Currently 120 million Chinese travel overseas each year (Travel China Guide, 2016) and last year we saw just over 1 million visit Australia. By 2020 more than 200 million Chinese will be travelling overseas presenting every tourist destination a massive opportunity.