Australia remains international tourist hotspot

The government's annual International Visitor Survey shows the number of overseas tourists are on rise, and they're spending big while they're here.

Eastern grey kangaroos fight on at Emerald Beach in northern NSW.

Eastern grey kangaroos fight on at Emerald Beach in northern NSW. Source: AAP

Known for its sweeping desert plains, rugged bushland and endless coastlines, international visitors can't seem to get enough of 'the land down under'.

"Everything is different. It's got big cities, the bush, Ayers Rock, The Great Barrier Reef, I can't wait to go see the Barrier Reef."

"The Opera House, we love the Harbour Bridge, one of the icons of Sydney. And we love the environment, the people are really nice, really good people and, yeah, we like shopping here too."

More than 8 million overseas tourists visited Australia in 2017 - a rise of 6% from 2016.
"It looks like a cosmopolitan city. I can see people from all races and communities and from different parts of the world, all over the world. I heard a lot about the Opera House and Harbour Bridge in my childhood so I just wanted to come with my family to visit this country."
Spending by international tourists also rose by 6% - soaring to a new high of $41.3 billion.

John Hart, from the Australian Chamber of Tourism says international visitors are a significant boost to Australia's economy.
"That rise is bigger than the rise in the number of people that are arriving, so those that are coming are spending more, and it's that spend that we need because that's where we get the flow-on impact, that's where we get the jobs and that's where we get the economic benefit."
Almost all states and territories saw growth in overseas visitors, with the exception of Western Australia. New South Wales remains the most popular visitor destination, with overseas tourist numbers up 7% in 2017. Victoria and Adelaide both saw an 8% rise of visitors to their state. But Tasmania had the country's strongest growth, with visitor numbers up 18%, and tourist spending increasing by 31% to almost $500 million last year.

Tourists from China maintained the top spot followed by New Zealand and the United States.

But the most significant rise was from tourists from India - with visitor numbers up 16%.

Philip Boniface, from the Australia India Travel and Tourism Council says Indians are attracted to Australia because of the countries' similarities.
"Eateries are easily available, the diet is not a big problem, language is no barrier, climate is good and suitable, and more and more exposure of Australia on the TV and media screens."
India also recorded the largest growth in visitor spend, up 16% to $1.4 billion last year.

John Hart from the Australian Chamber of Tourism says lndian visitors appear to be spending their money on Australian food and dining.
"There's some great benefits that flow from tourism with markets. So, the Indian market for instance also totally obsessed with food, a lot of vegetarian food, but they're spending up big in our restaurants, as are the Chinese markets."
Tourism organisations and attractions are adapting to accommodate the rise in international visitors. Cultural festivals and in-language tours are helping guests feel at home in Australia. The Sydney Opera House now runs tours in seven different languages. Its Director of Visitor Experience, Jade McKellar, says it's important to make the experience accessible to all visitors.
"The huge volume of international visitors that visit the Sydney Opera House, it was really important to us to have a tour offering that caters to all of the different language needs. At the moment we have over 40% of our 500,000 tour visitors a year actually take part in an Asian language tour, so they're incredibly popular."

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By Michelle Rimmer

Presented by Virginia Padovese




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