Tourism could fill the gap in the economy left by mining, with more tourists visiting the country than ever before.
The number of short-term visitors to Australia rose by 8.6 per cent to 7.68 million between April 2015 and April 2016, a new report by research firm CoreLogic says.
Since November 2014 the number of visitors has jumped by one million, driven by the Australian dollar falling from 94.2 US cents to 76.6 cents, research analyst Cameron Kusher said.
About half the arrivals over the past year were holidaymakers, which is good news for the wider economy.
Tourism is already one of Australia's biggest industries, with tourism exports in the year to March worth $43.6 billion - not far behind the $47.6 billion earned from country's top export iron ore.
"Tourism could well be the next sector to pick-up the slack (from slowing mining and housing construction)," Mr Kusher said.
"The rise in short-term arrivals to Australia is a very encouraging development and the longer-term benefits should not be overlooked.
"Potentially this may encourage some travellers to return for longer holidays in the future or even look to permanently migrate."
Mr Kusher said just like the mining boom, China was playing a big role in tourism growth.
Annual Chinese short-term arrivals to Australia increased by 23.7 per cent over the past year and have doubled since March 2012.
Mr Kusher said recent data from Tourism Research Australia also showed Chinese visitors spend about $8,734 on average per visit.
"Clearly, China is the key source of the growth in short-term arrivals," he said.
"We need to embrace this opportunity and look to understand the wants and needs of these travellers so the influx continues."
