The State Tourism Satellite Account (STSA) 2022–23 highlights the importance of tourism to each state and territory. STSA data tables are useful in understanding:
Tourism Research Australia (TRA) compiled the 2022-23 STSA. This most recent year is compared with earlier years and a time series of results (2006-07 to 2022-23) is presented in the data tables at the end of this summary.
TRA used its internal data (Regional Expenditure) along with the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS’) Australian Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) data, Labour Accounts Australia data, and State Accounts data as sources for the STSA.
The STSA complements the work of the TSA by examining state and territory tourism performance and estimating the indirect economic and jobs impacts of tourism. The detailed statistical tables that accompany this report also include tourism Gross Value Added (GVA), tourism output and data for different tourism industries.
Read about the terminology we use and how we apply the data in the explanatory notes.
During 2022-23 the visitor economy experienced a strong rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic. The industry saw increased visitor numbers, with Australians travelling domestically and more international visitors returning to our shores. However, the recovery in international arrivals has taken longer than domestic travel, including as a result of the earlier international border closures during the pandemic.
According to TRA national visitor survey (NVS) and international visitor survey (IVS) expenditure data, total tourism demand in the form of short-term visitor spend in Australia in 2022-23 was $169 billion (Figure 1). This was up 73% or $71 billion on 2021-22 and surpassed pre-pandemic (2018-19) levels by 24% or $32.2 billion:
Source: TRA IVS and NVS data
Tourism consumption was $164.5 billion in 2022-23. With solid domestic travel and international arrivals recovering strongly, tourism consumption was up 71% (or $68.6 billion) on the previous year. The robust growth during 2022-23 led total tourism consumption to exceed the previous peak in 2018-19 by 8% ($12.2 billion).
Tourism consumption improved for all states and territories in 2022-23 when compared with the previous year (Table 1). In order of the strongest growth among the states and territories:
Table 1: Tourism consumption by state and territory, 2022-23
State | Consumption 2022-23 | Change from 2021-22 | Change from 2018-19 | ||
$ billion | $ billion | Per cent | $ billion | Per cent | |
New South Wales | 48.7 | 23.2 | 91% | 2.1 | 4.5% |
Victoria | 36.6 | 16.2 | 79% | 0.4 | 1.2% |
Queensland | 40.5 | 15.1 | 59% | 5.9 | 17% |
South Australia | 10.3 | 4.0 | 64% | 1.3 | 14% |
Western Australia | 17.2 | 6.1 | 55% | 2.1 | 14% |
Tasmania | 4.5 | 1.1 | 33% | 0.0 | 0% |
Northern Territory | 3.3 | 1.1 | 51% | 0.1 | 3.8% |
Australian Capital Territory | 3.4 | 1.7 | 94% | 0.3 | 11% |
Total | 164.5 | 68.6 | 71% | 12.2 | 8.0% |
Direct tourism nominal Gross State Product (GSP) for all states and territories was $63 billion in 2022-23. This was up 77% on 2021-22 and up 4.4% on 2018-19. By comparison, nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the whole Australian economy in 2022-23 grew 11% on 2021‑22 and 32% on 2018-19.
Tourism’s direct share of the national economy was 2.5% in 2022-23. This remained a smaller share when compared with 2018-19, where it had a 3.1% direct share, due to the Australian economy as a whole growing stronger than just the tourism component when comparing 2022-23 with 2018-19.
Direct tourism GSP increased for all states and territories in 2022-23 compared with 2021-22 levels (Table 2). This growth varied across different jurisdictions:
Due to extended COVID-19 restrictions in Victoria, in 2022-23 GSP was still 5% lower than its pre-pandemic (2018-19) level. All other states and territories’ GSP were either at par or surpassed the pre-pandemic 2018-19 levels, with largest increase of 14% (or $2 billion) recorded in Queensland.
Table 2: Direct tourism GSP by state and territory, 2022-23
State | GSP 2022-23 | Change from 2021-22 | Change from 2018-19 | ||
$ billion | $ billion | Per cent | $ billion | Per cent | |
New South Wales | 18.8 | 9.1 | 95% | 1.4 | 2.1% |
Victoria | 13.9 | 6.4 | 85% | -0.7 | -4.7% |
Queensland | 15.6 | 6.1 | 64% | 2.0 | 14% |
South Australia | 3.8 | 1.5 | 65% | 0.3 | 7.8% |
Western Australia | 6.5 | 2.6 | 64% | 0.6 | 9.3% |
Tasmania | 1.7 | 0.5 | 44% | 0.0 | 0.5% |
Northern Territory | 1.2 | 0.4 | 57% | 0.1 | 8.1% |
Australian Capital Territory | 1.3 | 0.7 | 96% | 0.1 | 8.6% |
Total | 63.0 | 27.3 | 77% | 2.7 | 4.4% |
Indirect tourism GSP for all states and territories was $65.7 billion in 2022-23. As a result, total GSP (direct plus indirect) was $128.7 billion in 2022-23. This indirect GSP contribution represented a 2.6% share of nominal national GDP in 2022-23. This compares with a 1.7% share in 2021-22 and a 3.3% share in 2018-19.
In measuring indirect GSP impacts, the increase on 2021-22 varied between 26% for Tasmania to 88% for the Australian Capital Territory. Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory all surpassed pre-pandemic levels (Table 3).
Table 3: Indirect tourism GSP by state and territory, 2022-23
State | GSP 2022-23 | Change from 2021-22 | Change from 2018-19 | ||
$ billion | $ billion | Per cent | $ billion | Per cent | |
New South Wales | 19.5 | 9.0 | 86% | -0.2 | -1.2% |
Victoria | 14.3 | 6.0 | 72% | -0.5 | -3.2% |
Queensland | 16.1 | 5.6 | 53% | 1.7 | 12% |
South Australia | 4.6 | 1.8 | 63% | 0.3 | 7.0% |
Western Australia | 6.7 | 2.1 | 47% | 0.5 | 8.4% |
Tasmania | 1.7 | 0.4 | 26% | -0.1 | -6.6% |
Northern Territory | 1.4 | 0.5 | 49% | 0.0 | -3.1% |
Australian Capital Territory | 1.4 | 0.6 | 88% | 0.1 | 8.8% |
Total | 65.7 | 25.9 | 65% | 1.7 | 2.7% |
Since 2021-22, ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) has adopted ‘tourism filled jobs’ as the standard metric for reporting tourism employment. Therefore, the 2022-23 STSA also uses this metric for the second time (see explanatory notes for further information).
At the end of 2022-23, there were 626,200 direct tourism filled jobs, which was up 42% on the previous year. This compares with 4.9% growth in Australian jobs over the same period. As a result, tourism’s share of total filled jobs increased from 3.0% in 2021-22 to 4.1% in 2022-23. However, in 2018-19, before the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism provided 700,900 jobs, which was 5.1% of total jobs in Australia.
In addition to direct jobs, tourism generated a further 443,400 indirect jobs in the economy, resulting in a combined 1,069,600 direct and indirect jobs in the visitor economy. As a share of the economy, tourism’s indirect jobs share increased from 1.8% in 2021-22 to 2.9% in 2022-23. This share was 3.0% in 2018-19.
All states and territories had growth in direct and total (direct and indirect) tourism filled jobs in 2022-23 (Table 4).
Compared with 2018-19 levels, all states and territories had fewer direct tourism filled jobs in 2022-23. The deficits in direct tourism filled jobs in 2022-23 relative to the pre-pandemic level varied across jurisdictions, but was less than 20% in all cases:
Table 4: Tourism filled jobs by state and territory, 2022-23
State | Tourism Jobs 2022-23 (000) | Change from 2021-22 (%) | Change from 2018-19 (%) | |||
Direct jobs | Total jobs* | Direct jobs | Total jobs* | Direct jobs | Total jobs* | |
New South Wales | 172.6 | 292.3 | 63% | 76% | -15% | -7.8% |
Victoria | 163.6 | 257.5 | 50% | 62% | -15% | -9.5% |
Queensland | 145.7 | 259.7 | 29% | 42% | -3.0% | 5.1% |
South Australia | 40.6 | 69.8 | 32% | 45% | -5.1% | 1.9% |
Western Australia | 66.7 | 110.8 | 24% | 35% | -6.1% | 0.9% |
Tasmania | 19.0 | 42.9 | 10% | 21% | -17% | -8.6% |
Northern Territory | 7.5 | 16.3 | 21% | 36% | -10% | -2.6% |
Australian Capital Territory | 10.5 | 20.3 | 63% | 78% | -5.2% | 3.6% |
Total | 626.2 | 1069.6 | 42% | 53% | -11% | -3.7% |
*Denotes direct and indirect tourism jobs
Total tourism GDP
$128.7 billion
Up 71% compared with 2021–22
Up 3.5% compared with 2018–19
Total tourism GVA
$115.3 billion
Up 74% compared with 2021–22
Up 4.6% compared with 2018–19
Total tourism filled jobs
1.07 million
Up 53% compared with 2021–22
Down 3.7% compared with 2018–19
In 2022–23:
In 2022–23:
In 2022–23:
Direct contribution refers to money spent directly in the tourism industry. Without a tourism industry in Australia, this money wouldn’t be generated, or these people wouldn’t be employed, in this way.
The flow-on effect of the tourism industry. Based on 2022-23 direct tourism output data from the National TSA (ABS Cat. No 5249.0), in Australia, for every dollar spent in the tourism industry, an additional 84 cents of related additional expenditure was generated and spent elsewhere in the economy.
GVA allows easier comparisons across industries. GVA is equal to GDP minus taxes.
Total tourism GSP
$2.7 billion
Up 92% compared with 2021–22
Up 8.7% compared with 2018–19
Total tourism GVA
$2.4 billion
Up 94% compared with 2021–22
Up 9.5% compared with 2018–19
Total tourism filled jobs
20,300
Up 78% compared with 2021–22
Up 3.6% compared with 2018–19
In 2022–23:
In 2022–23:
In 2022–23:
Direct contribution refers to money spent directly in the tourism industry. Without a tourism industry in the ACT, this money wouldn’t be generated, or these people wouldn’t be employed.
The flow-on effect of the tourism industry. In the ACT, for every dollar spent in the tourism industry, an additional 80 cents of related expenditure was generated and spent elsewhere in the economy.
GVA allows easier comparisons across industries. GVA is equal to GSP minus taxes.
Total tourism GSP
$38.2 billion
Up 90% compared with 2021–22
Up 0.4% compared with 2018–19
Total tourism GVA
$34.3 billion
Up 93% compared with 2021–22
Up 1.6% compared with 2018–19
Total tourism filled jobs
292,300
Up 76% compared with 2021–22
Down 7.8% compared with 2018–19
In 2022–23:
In 2022–23:
In 2022–23:
Direct contribution refers to money spent directly in the tourism industry. Without a tourism industry in NSW (New South Wales), this money wouldn’t be generated, or these people wouldn’t be employed, in this way.
The flow-on effect of the tourism industry. In NSW, for every dollar spent in the tourism industry, an additional 84 cents of related additional expenditure was generated and spent elsewhere in the economy.
GVA allows easier comparisons across industries. GVA is equal to GSP minus taxes.
Total tourism GSP
$2.6 billion
Up 52% compared with 2021–22
Up 1.8% compared with 2018–19
Total tourism GVA
$2.2 billion
Up 53% compared with 2021–22
Down 4.5% compared with 2018–19
Total tourism filled jobs
16,300
Up 36% compared with 2021–22
Down 2.6% compared with 2018–19
In 2022–23:
In 2022–23:
In 2022–23:
Direct contribution refers to money spent directly in the tourism industry. Without a tourism industry in the NT, this money wouldn’t be generated, or these people wouldn’t be employed, in this way.
The flow-on effect of the tourism industry. In the NT, for every dollar spent in the tourism industry, an additional 83 cents of related additional expenditure was generated and spent elsewhere in the economy.
GVA allows easier comparisons across industries. GVA is equal to GSP minus taxes.
Total tourism GSP
$31.8 billion
Up 58% compared with 2021–22
Up 13% compared with 2018–19
Total tourism GVA
$28.6 billion
Up 61% compared with 2021–22
Up 14% compared with 2018–19
Total tourism filled jobs
259,700
Up 42% compared with 2021–22
Up 5.1% compared with 2018–19
In 2022–23:
In 2022–23:
In 2022–23:
Direct contribution refers to money spent directly in the tourism industry. Without a tourism industry in Qld, this money wouldn’t be generated, or these people wouldn’t be employed, in this way.
The flow-on effect of the tourism industry. In Qld, for every dollar spent in the tourism industry, an additional 86 cents of related additional expenditure was generated and spent elsewhere in the economy.
GVA allows easier comparisons across industries. GVA is equal to GSP minus taxes.
Total tourism GSP
$8.4 billion
Up 64% compared with 2021–22
Up 7.4% compared with 2018–19
Total tourism GVA
$7.1 billion
Up 64% compared with 2021–22
Up 8.8% compared with 2018–19
Total tourism filled jobs
69,800
Up 45% compared with 2021–22
Up 1.9% compared with 2018–19
In 2022–23:
In 2022–23:
In 2022–23:
Direct contribution refers to money spent directly in the tourism industry. Without a tourism industry in SA (South Australia), this money wouldn’t be generated, or these people wouldn’t be employed, in this way.
The flow-on effect of the tourism industry. In SA, for every dollar spent in the tourism industry, an additional 83 cents were spent elsewhere in the economy.
GVA allows easier comparisons across industries. GVA is equal to GSP minus taxes.
Total tourism GSP
$3.5 billion
Up 35% compared with 2021–22
Down 3.2% compared with 2018–19
Total tourism GVA
$3.2 billion
Up 37% compared with 2021–22
Down 1.6% compared with 2018–19
Total tourism filled jobs
42,900
Up 21% compared with 2020–21
Down 8.6% compared with 2018–19
In 2022–23:
In 2022–23:
In 2022–23:
Direct contribution refers to money spent directly in the tourism industry. Without a tourism industry in Tas, this money wouldn’t be generated, or these people wouldn’t be employed, in this way.
The flow-on effect of the tourism industry. In Tas, for every dollar spent in the tourism industry, an additional 83 cents were spent elsewhere in the economy.
GVA allows easier comparisons across industries. GVA is equal to GSP minus taxes.
Total tourism GSP
$28.2 billion
Up 78% compared with 2021–22
Down 4.0% compared with 2018–19
Total tourism GVA
$25.5 billion
Up 82% compared with 2021–22
Down 3.4% compared with 2018–19
Total tourism filled jobs
257,500
Up 62% compared with 2021–22
Down 9.5% compared with 2018–19
In 2022–23:
In 2022–23:
In 2022–23:
Direct contribution refers to money spent directly in the tourism industry. Without a tourism industry in Victoria, this money wouldn’t be generated, or these people wouldn’t be employed, in this way.
The flow-on effect of the tourism industry. In Victoria, for every dollar spent in the tourism industry, an additional 85 cents of related additional expenditure was generated and spent elsewhere in the economy.
GVA allows easier comparisons across industries. GVA is equal to GSP minus taxes.
Total tourism GSP
$13.2 billion
Up 55% compared with 2021–22
Up 8.8% compared with 2018–19
Total tourism GVA
$11.9 billion
Up 59% compared with 2021–22
Up 10% compared with 2018–19
Total tourism filled jobs
110,800
Up 35% compared with 2021–22
Up 0.9% compared with 2018–19
In 2022–23:
In 2022–23:
In 2022–23:
Direct contribution refers to money spent directly in the tourism industry. Without a tourism industry in WA (Western Australia), this money wouldn’t be generated, or these people wouldn’t be employed, in this way.
The flow-on effect of the tourism industry. In WA, for every dollar spent in the tourism industry, an additional 81 cents of related additional expenditure was generated and spent elsewhere in the economy.
GVA allows easier comparisons across industries. GVA is equal to GSP minus taxes.
Find out more about tourism consumption, jobs and economic activity in our data tables.
ABS has implemented changes to the methodology of deriving tourism output at basic prices, tourism taxes on products, tourism margins and tourism imports. As a result, revision to the data at national level has been applied to previous annual coefficient benchmark i.e. 2019-20. For further information on these revisions please see history-of-changes. These revisions have also reflected changes in state tourism satellite Accounts estimates from 2019-10 to 2021-22 published in the State Tourism Satellite Account, 2021-22 publication.
Revisions to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) national accounts data have an impact on the STSA. The ABS makes periodical revisions to reflect changes in the economy, in line with international best practice. ABS has embarked upon updating input-output relationships based on the latest available supply-use tables, which in this case refer to year 2020-21 which reflect in revision of some benchmark ratios and some imputed ratios for the indicators which were not available.
Some unwarranted fluctuations observed in the previously published 2021-22 and 2020-21 STSA results. Upon investigation it was found that underlying IVS expenditure ratios used in the model were incorrect (deficient) for these two years because of the non-availability of underlying IVS data due to COVID-19 restrictions. To fix this issue, in the current cycle we have used IVS expenditure ratios available in the 2019-20 for these two intervening years.
Regional expenditure data from TRA surveys are widely used in deriving proportions for disaggregating National TSA data across jurisdictions and across visitor types. These data are sourced from the International Visitor Survey (IVS) and National Visitor Survey (NVS), year ending June 2023.
The 2022–23 STSA publication presents a comprehensive set of data on the direct and indirect economic contribution of tourism for all states and territories. It builds on the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) Australian Tourism Satellite Account.
The report highlights changes in 2022–23, in nominal terms. It also examines longer term patterns in tourism’s contribution to the national, state and territory economies.
The Australian System of National Accounts (SNA) is based on industry classifications. Industries within the SNA are characterised by their production or ‘supply’ capacity. Tourism, on the other hand, is a demand-side concept and so has no direct industry supply characteristics distinguishable from the SNA.
The Australian TSA bridges the supply-demand gap. It:
Comparisons can then be made between:
The TSA also enables comparison between Australian and international tourism sectors.
Check the ABS Australian National Accounts: Tourism Satellite Account methodology for more information on the National TSA.
The approach in this STSA is to derive the direct contribution of tourism. It is similar to the approach developed by Pham et al. (2009). Tourism spend data and state/territory industry input-output (I-O) data are combined with the National TSA benchmark. This is to capture the:
The main sources for the data and methodology are:
Indirect effects of tourism demand on businesses that provide goods and services to the tourism industry are also measured. For example, the indirect tourism demand generated from supplying a meal to a visitor starts with producing those goods and services the restaurant needs to make the meal. This might include fresh produce and electricity for cooking.
This approach complements the direct effects presented through the TSA framework. It provides a clearer picture of the total contribution of tourism to the economy. Indirect contributions have been calculated using I-O analysis methods. This is because the TSA framework is not designed to measure these indirect effects at state and territory level.
The I-O analysis methods provide a breakdown of the supply and demand of commodities in the Australian economy.
Multipliers for standard industries in the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industry Classification (ANZSIC) are used as the basis for calculating tourism’s indirect effects. This is because the tourism sector does not represent a single industry in the economy.