State of the Industry 2022

Tourism Research Australia's (TRA’s) annual State of the Industry report presents a snapshot of Australia’s visitor economy in 2022.

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Summary

The COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating impact on Australia’s visitor economy from March 2020. However, Australians responded by travelling more in Australia in 2021 and 2022. The international border also reopened in early 2022, bringing a steady increase in international visitor arrivals.  

The re-emerging visitor economy saw total tourism spend in Australia in 2022 surpass the 2019 level, largely due to strong domestic travel spend.

The rapid rise in demand for visitor services was affected by supply-side constraints in 2022, such as workforce shortages. Other countries around the globe experienced similar constraints.

Visitor economy outlook

The outlook for the visitor economy is brighter than at any time over the past 3 years. However, TRA forecasts a full recovery may take until 2025. Skills shortages are likely to ease over coming years.

The industry-led and government-enabled THRIVE 2030 Strategy, the national long-term tourism strategy, supports the recovery of the visitor economy through and after the pandemic. The Strategy aspires to boost expenditure in the visitor economy to $230 billion by the year 2030.

About this report

The State of the Industry report presents evidence and insights of Australia’s visitor economy performance in 2022. It reports on developments in the visitor economy and helps industry and government understand and adapt to the changing demand and supply environment by:

  • using data from many sources
  • reviewing trends in both demand and supply of visitor economy services
  • presenting contributions from TRA’s research partners.

Below are key metrics used to measure demand and supply in the visitor economy:

Demand and supply metrics

Demand metrics

Demand metricDescription2019 value2022 valueChange 2022 on 2019 (pre-pandemic)Change 2022 on 2021
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$143 billion3% up78% up
International visitor spendSpend from international visitors in Australia only (excluding international students staying more than 12 months)$31.4 billion$12.7 billion-59% down780% up
Domestic overnight visitor spendSpend by Australian residents who travel away from home for at least one night (for non-routine purposes)$80.7 billion$101.3 billion25% up67% 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, for non-routine purposes)$26.3 billion$29 billion10% up59% up
THRIVE 2030 target: 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$166.2 billion$164.2 billion-1% down60% up
International visitorsAll international visitors to Australia aged 15 or over who stay less than 12 months8.7 million3.4 million-61% down1424% up
International student visa holders in Australia**Number of international students in Australia that hold a student visa (primary or secondary, excluding the foreign affairs and defence sectors).564.2 thousand571.8 thousand1.3% up73% up
Domestic overnight tripsAustralian residents aged 15 or over who travel away from home for at least one night (for non-routine purposes)117.4 million108.2 million-8% down32% 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, for non-routine purposes)248.3 million201.4 million-19% down26% up
Australian resident outbound tripsAll Australian residents returning from travel out of Australia for less than 12 months11.3 million5.2 million-54% down1637% up

* This metric aligns with the THRIVE 2030 Strategy spend targets

** Data for 2019 (pre-pandemic year) refers to student visa holders as at 29 March 2020. Data for 2022 refers to student visa holders as at 27 March 2023.

Supply metrics

Supply metricDescription2019 value2022 valueChange 2022 on 2019 (pre-pandemic)Change 2022 on 2020
Accommodation roomsTotal number of rooms available in accommodation establishments with 10 rooms or more304.9 thousand316.1 thousand3.7% up2.4% up
Accommodation occupancyPercentage of rooms sold, or occupied in establishments of 10 rooms or more70.9%66.5%-4.4 percentage points (ppts) down13ppts up
International aviation seatsTotal number of seats available on flights to Australia26.8 million12.1 million-55% down233% up
International aviation load factorPercentage of seats on flights into Australia occupied by revenue passengers81.7%80.6%-1.1ppts down61.3ppts up
Domestic aviation seatsNumber of seats available to people flying within Australia77.5 million65.2 million-16% down67% up
Domestic aviation load factorPercentage of seats on domestic flights occupied by revenue passengers80.8%78.9%-1.9ppts down18ppts up
Tourism jobsNumber of filled jobs in the tourism industry757.5 thousand676.4 thousand-11% down42% up
Tourism businesses*Number of Australian businesses in tourism-related industries324.2 thousand358.3 thousand11%up6% up
Tourism investment*Total value of investment in tourism infrastructure projects valued over $20 million$45.3 billion$44.3 billion-2.2% down3.5% up

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

Data sources for tables

Tourism spend and trips data

International student visa holder data

  • Department of Home Affairs, Student visa numbers inside and outside of Australia (data supplied by Department Education) accessed May 2023

Tourism jobs data

Domestic and international aviation data

Accommodation rooms and occupancy rates data

  • STR, subscription data, accessed April 2023

Tourism investment and tourism businesses data

Contact TRA

mail   tourism.research@tra.gov.au