Summary

Australia’s visitor economy continued to be deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. This report uses data from multiple sources to highlight various industry and government pandemic responses during the year.

While Australia’s visitor economy has shown resilience and persistence since the pandemic began, 2021 was a particularly difficult year. However, 2021 also saw the:

  • rapid return of domestic tourism in 2021 following lockdowns
  • reopening of Australia’s border towards the end of the year, and further announcements for the new year.

These factors spurred rising optimism for 2022.

Visitor economy outlook

The visitor economy outlook is more positive now than during the past two years. However, conditions are still challenging and recovery will take time, particularly for businesses and regions reliant on international tourists. The visitor economy also faces serious labour shortages and increased international competition.

Plan for the future

2022 will be a critical year for the industry as the recovery gains momentum. The THRIVE 2030 Strategy for the Australian visitor economy is an industry-led, government-enabled plan. It provides an action plan to rebuild and grow the sector. It aims to see visitor economy spend reach $230 billion by the year 2030.

How this year’s report is different

TRA has changed the format of the State of the Industry report this year to reflect the depth of changes in the visitor economy over recent years. This year, the report:

  • reviews the 2021 calendar year. Previous editions of the report (pre-pandemic) reviewed financial years
  • gives a more detailed explanation of challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. This includes contributions, such as case studies, by TRA’s research partners
  • focuses on the large and growing contribution of the international education sector. This was often omitted from tourism analysis in the past but has been included to ensure the report aligns with the THRIVE 2030 Strategy’s objectives and vision.

Demand and supply metrics

Demand metrics

Demand metricDescription2019 value2021 valueChange 2021 on 2019 (pre-pandemic)Change 2021 on 2020
Total visitor spendCombined value of total international visitor and total domestic visitor spend (in Australia only, excluding international students staying more than 12 months)$138.5 billion$80.4 billion-42% down14% up
International visitor spendSpend from international visitors in Australia only (excluding international students staying more than 12 months)$31.4 billion$1.4 billion-96% down-82% down
Domestic overnight visitor spendSpend by Australian residents who travel away from home for at least one night$80.7 billion$60.7 billion-25% down33% up
Domestic day trip visitor spendSpend by Australian residents travelling on a day trip (more than 4 hours and 50 km round-trip from their home)$26.3 billion$18.3 billion-31% down5% up
Total visitor economy spend*Combined value of total international visitor and total domestic visitor spend (in Australia only) including international students staying more than 12 months$166.4 billion$102.8 billion-38% down4% up
International visitorsAll international visitors to Australia aged 15 or over who stay less than 12 months8.7 million223.7 thousand-97% down-87% down
International student enrolmentsEnrolments by students studying in Australia on a student visa across all sectors952.2 thousand716.9 thousand-25% down-19% down
Domestic overnight tripsAustralian residents aged 15 or over who travel away from home for at least one night117.4 million82.1 million-30% down13% up
Domestic day tripsAustralian residents aged 15 or over travelling on a day trip (more than 4 hours and 50 km round-trip from their home)248.3 million160.5 million-35% down-2% down
Domestic outbound trips**Australian residents aged 15 or over travelling out of Australia for less than 12 months9.9 million228 thousand-98% down-95% down

* This metric aligns with the THRIVE 2030 Strategy spend targets

** Data for year ending September (outbound data is only available with a 3-month lag).

Supply metrics

Supply metricDescription2019 value2021 valueChange 2021 on 2019 (pre-pandemic)Change 2021 on 2020
Accommodation roomsTotal number of rooms available in accommodation establishments with 10 rooms or more304.9 thousand308.8 thousand1% up7% up
Accommodation occupancyPercentage of rooms sold, or occupied in establishments of 10 rooms or more70.9%53.3%-18 percentage points (ppts) down10ppts up
International aviation seatsTotal number of seats available on flights to Australia26.8 million3.6 million-86% down-50% down
International aviation load factorPercentage of seats on flights into Australia occupied by revenue passengers81.7%19.3%-62ppts down-48ppts down
Domestic aviation seatsNumber of seats available to people flying within Australia69.0 million30.8 million-55% down32% up
Domestic aviation load factorPercentage of seats on domestic flights occupied by revenue passengers75.4%54.7%-21ppts down-2ppts down
Tourism investment*Total value of investment in tourism infrastructure projects valued over $20 million$45.3 billion$41.8 billion-8% down-4% down
Tourism jobsNumber of filled jobs in the tourism industry749.4 thousand628.9 thousand-16% downno change
Tourism businesses*Number of Australian businesses in tourism-related industries320.7 thousand334.5 thousand4% up3% up

* Data for year ending June (financial year basis).

Data sources for tables

Tourism spend and trips data

International student enrolment data

Tourism jobs data

Australian Bureau of Statistics, Tourism Satellite Accounts: quarterly tourism labour statistics, Australia, experimental estimates, December 2021, accessed May 2022

Domestic and international aviation data

Accommodation rooms and occupancy rates data

STR, subscription data, accessed May 2022

Tourism investment and tourism businesses data

Contact TRA

mail   tourism.research@tra.gov.au