International tourists to Australia register increase

Australia, 11th June: The figures revealed by the International Visitor Survey have indicated a growth in the number of international tourists visiting Australia in the first three months of the year 2010.

The survey by Tourism Research Australia, a government research agency, for the first quarter of the year 2010 reveals that the number of international travelers in Australia has been up by six percent as compared to the same period last year.

Overseas visitors are not only staying for longer durations of time in Australia but also spending more on their foreign trips. This is an indication that Australia is moving out of the global recession slowly and gradually.

Detailed figures by the survey state that the increase in the number of overseas visitors has been up by six percent while total expenditure and nights also saw an increase by three percent and eight percent respectively.

The year ending in March witnessed maximum number of overseas visitors from nations including New Zealand, the UK, the US and China respectively.

Australian tourism saw a big boost in the total spending by overseas tourists which touched $17 billion over the period of one year.

During this period, about 5.6 million international tourists chose Australia as their destination, the data from the ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) shows.

Out of these, nearly 25 percent came to Australia to pay a visit to their relatives and friends living in Australia while another 46 percent came to Australia for holidaying. Also, there has been an upward trend in the number of people traveling to Australia of Australian business visas. Figures show an increase of 9.7 percent in the number of people travelling to Australia for business as compared to the same period in 2009. 

The economy of Australia is going strongly in 2010’s first quarter; however, the same cannot be stated about the other nations of the world, stated Brett Gale, executive director of TTF (Tourism & Transport Forum).

Meanwhile, there has been a decline in the average daily spending per person in Australia which went down by 3.9 percent. Gale attributed this decline to the rise of the Australian dollar which made Australian exports more costly and reduced the purchasing power of overseas visitors.