Issues & Trends – March 2011
Asian students prop up inbound tourism spending
THIS month’s release of latest figures from Tourism Research Australia and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reveal Australia’s increasing reliance on Asian students to keep inbound visitor spending buoyant and a domestic travel market that remains flat.
The International Visitor Survey (IVS) results released earlier this month by Tourism Research Australia show $6.5 billion spent by international students account for 36.2 per cent of the $17.8 billion total inbound visitor expenditure last year.
TTF chief executive John Lee pointed out: “Although international students only make up 7.9 per cent of overseas visitors to Australia, they spend more time – and therefore more money – in Australia than other visitors.
“Since 2005, spending by international students has grown from 26 per cent to 36.2 per cent of total international tourist expenditure.
“68 per cent of Chinese tourist spending in Australia is by education visitors, with students accounting for 62 per cent of spending by Indonesian visitors, 55 per cent of Indian tourist spending, 52 per cent from Malaysia and 50 per cent from Hong Kong.”
The IVS findings coincided with ABS figures showing significant double-digit inbound growth from China, Korea and Malaysia in January compared to January last year.
Australian Tourism Export Council managing director Felicia Mariani hailed this as a positive start to the year. “We are delighted to see such strong, continued growth from China, which was up by 33.3 per cent; Malaysia which was up by 19.7 per cent and Korea up by 11.6 per cent,” she said. “Australia continues to look to the East for its growth potential.
“With the Australian dollar pre-dicted to remain at or around parity for the near future, and the fragile economic conditions in the US, UK and parts of Europe, our traditional Western markets are relatively flat or in decline.
“Conversely, the Asian markets continue to provide Australia with optimism.” Overall arrival figures for short term visitors in January were 4.7 per cent up on last year but TTF’s Lee said they would be inflated because of Chinese New Year occurring in February and there was no cause for complacency.
He urged governments to nurture the student market. “It is vital that visa processing and financial requirements for international students do not unduly reduce Australia’s capacity to cater for this vital market,” he said.
“With the strong Australian dollar and increasing competition from other international education providers, we must strike the right balance if we are to see continuing growth.”
Meanwhile the National Visitor Survey (NVS) for the quarter ending December 31, 2010, also released this month by Tourism Research Australia, shows domestic tourism remains flat.
According to the NVS, domestic visitor nights rose one per cent in 2010 compared to the same period in 2009, with overnight expenditure also up one per cent.
TTF’s Lee called for a renewed focus on product improvements. “Investing in new tourism infrastructure, products and experiences can play a key role in addressing this issue.” he said.