Short-term international arrivals to Australia continue to grow

The latest International Visitor Survey (IVS) results show that international visitor expenditure for the year-ending June 2013 reached a record A$28.2 billion, off the back of a six per cent rise.

Steady rise in international visitor expenditure

International visitor expenditure has grown a solid 8.9 per cent in the last four years, tracking steadily against the key targets of the Tourism 2020 Strategy. For the 12 months to June 2013, international visitor expenditure totalled A$28.2 billion, up six per cent on the previous year's result.

Visitor expenditure out of Asia continues to grow strongly, with the region contributing 48 per cent of total expenditure (up from 42 per cent in 2009). China continues to be the main source of growth reaching
A$4.5 billion for the year-ending June, up A$1.8 billion since 2009.

The Leisure segment continues to drive growth in arrivals In the September 2013 quarter, total international arrivals grew six per cent, driven primarily by the strong performance from the Holiday and Visiting Friends & Relatives segments, up six per cent and 10 per cent respectively.

For the quarter, Holiday arrivals from China grew 42 per cent, while Singapore was up 12 per cent, Malaysia was up 26 per cent and Indonesia was up eight per cent. For the year-ending September, Holiday visitors from the Western markets also performed well, with Holiday arrivals from the UK up 3.5 per cent, USA up 8.5 per cent, Germany up 6.5 per cent, France up 3.7 per cent, and Italy up seven per cent.

Business events arrivals softened

Business events (BE) arrivals softened in the year-ending September 2013, declining eight per cent. The top five markets by BE arrivals to Australia remained the same: New Zealand, USA, China, Japan and India. India was the only market in the top five to register growth for the 12 month period to September 2013.

However, renewed interest in incentive travel has been reported out of other markets such as the USA. Due to the nature of the sector, this positive sentiment won't have an immediate impact on arrival numbers as there are long lead times for bookings.

To give an example, the new International Convention Centre Sydney, due to be opened in late 2016, announced in November that it has secured five events, worth almost A$34 million, to be held from 2017 to 2019.

Solid forecast for International visitor arrivals

The latest issue of Tourism Research Australia's bi-annual Tourism Forecasts (October 2013), forecasts international visitor arrivals to grow 5.8 per cent to 6.6 million in 2013-14 and 5.6 per cent to seven million in 2014-15, driven by growth from China, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and the USA. Australia's top five inbound markets (New Zealand, China, UK, USA, and Singapore) are expected to provide 51 per cent of the additional three million arrivals by 2022−23. China is expected to contribute 22 per cent of the additional arrivals over the forecast period. Read the full report here.

Global consumer confidence remains stable

According to consumer findings from Nielsen, global consumer confidence held steady in quarter three compared to previous quarter, with sentiments brightened notably in the USA and Europe.