About the State Tourism Satellite Account (STSA)

The 2023–24 State Tourism Satellite Account presents the direct and indirect economic contribution of tourism for all states and territories, highlighting the importance of tourism to each state and territory.

The report highlights changes in 2023–24, in nominal terms. It also examines longer term (2016-17 to 2023-24) patterns in tourism’s contribution to the national, state and territory economies. STSA data tables are useful in understanding:

• the value of tourism goods and services consumed by visitors in a state or territory.
• tourism’s contribution to Gross State Product (GSP), exports and jobs.

The 2023-24 STSA outputs provide a comparison to earlier years. A time series of results from 2016-17 to 2023-24 is available in the data tables.

The STSA complements the work of the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS’) Australian Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) by examining state and territory tourism performance and estimating the indirect economic and jobs impacts of tourism at a state and territory level. The detailed data tables below provide further information, including tourism Gross Value Added (GVA), tourism output and information specific to tourism industries.

For more information regarding the terminology and how we apply the data, please see the explanatory notes. 

Explore the data dashboard

You can explore the data by:

• choosing a state or territory using the drop-down menu
• choosing to view direct, indirect or total effects of tourism in the key economic aggregates table
• viewing the data for 2023–24 and the change from 2022–23 in the table.

Download the factsheet

Key findings

Australia’s tourism sector continued to grow in 2023-24, with visitor consumption, employment and overall economic contribution increasing and continuing to exceed pre-pandemic levels. Growth was driven by increasing international arrivals and steady domestic travel, boosting key economic indicators across most states and territories.

Total tourism consumption reached $198.5 billion, an 8.2% increase from 2022-23 and 25% higher than 2018-19. All states and territories experienced growth, with Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales leading the way.

Tourism directly contributed $78.1 billion to Gross State Product (GSP), a 9.1% rise on the previous year. Including indirect effects, tourism’s total contribution to the economy reached $158.0 billion in 2023-24. Tourism’s direct share of the national economy was 2.9%, marking tourism as a key driver of local and national growth.

Tourism employment grew to an estimated 691,500 direct filled jobs, a 5.7% increase from 2022-23, outpacing overall jobs growth. When indirect jobs are included, at a total level tourism supported almost 1.2 million jobs nationwide. Tasmania, New South Wales and Victoria saw the largest employment gains compared with 2022-23.

Performance across key metrics varied by state and territory, however all states and territories saw increases for some metrics:

• New South Wales and Victoria saw the largest increases in overall tourism consumption
• Tasmania recorded the strongest year-on-year percentage growth across most indicators, including consumption, GSP, and filled jobs
• South Australia experienced slower growth relative to other states and territories, with tourism consumption and GSP up slightly, and filled jobs declining slightly year-on-year.

The resurgence of international travel played a significant role in tourism’s economic performance, complementing steady domestic demand. While the broader economy has grown faster than the tourism sector in recent years, tourism remains a critical pillar of Australia’s economy, driving regional development, job creation and business growth. 

Tourism consumption

Tourism consumption was $198.5 billion in 2023-24, up 8.2% (or $15.1 billion) on 2022-23, with moderate domestic intrastate travel growth and international arrivals growing strongly. This robust growth during 2023-24 led total tourism consumption to exceed the previous peak in 2018-19 by 25% (or $40.1 billion).

Tourism consumption improved for all states and territories in 2023-24 when compared with the previous year (Table 1). In order of the strongest growth among the states and territories: 

• Tasmania registered the strongest growth, up 15% (or $0.7 billion)
• Victoria was up 11% (or $4.5 billion)
• New South Wales was up 11% (or $5.9 billion)
• Western Australia was up 7.3% (or $1.4 billion)
• Australian Capital Territory was up 6.0% (or $0.2 billion)
• Northern Territory was up 4.6% (or $0.2 billion)
• Queensland was up 4.5% (or $2.0 billion)
• South Australia was up 0.4% (up $0.04 billion).

Table 1: Tourism consumption by state and territory, 2023-24

Gross State Product from tourism

Direct tourism Gross State Product (GSP) for all states and territories was $78.1 billion in 2023-24. This was up 9.1% on 2022-23 and up 29% on pre-pandemic levels (2018-19). By comparison, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the whole Australian economy in 2023-24 grew by 4.1% compared with 2022-23 and is up by 37% on pre-pandemic levels (2018-19).

Tourism’s direct share of the national economy was 2.9% in 2023-24. This remained a smaller share compared with 3.1% in 2018-19, due to the Australian economy growing stronger (up 37%) than tourism (up 29%) over the period 2018-19 to 2023-24.

Direct tourism GSP increased for all states and territories in 2023-24 compared with 2022-23 levels (Table 2). This growth varied across different jurisdictions:

• Tasmania – up 13% (or $0.3 billion)
• Victoria – up 13% (or $2.0 billion)
• New South Wales – up 12% (or $2.6 billion)
• Northern Territory – up 8.3% (or $0.1 billion)
• Western Australia – up 5.8% (or $0.4 billion)
• Queensland – up 5.2% (or $0.9 billion)
• Australian Capital Territory – up 4.8% (0.1 billion)
• South Australia – up 1.4% (or $0.1 billion).

Due to a strong rebound in visitor activities after the COVID-19 pandemic, all states’ and territories’ direct GSP surpassed pre-pandemic levels in 2022–23, and now remain above pre-pandemic 2018-19 levels.

Table 2: Direct tourism GSP by state and territory, 2023-24

Indirect tourism GSP for all states and territories was $79.9 billion in 2023-24. As a result, total GSP (direct plus indirect) was $158.0 billion in 2023-24. The indirect GSP contribution represented a 3.0% share of national GDP in 2023-24. This in an increase on the 2.8% share in 2022-23 but still lags behind the 3.3% share in 2018-19.

In measuring indirect GSP impacts, the increase on 2022-23 varied between 2.4% for South Australia and 17% for Tasmania. All states and territories surpassed pre-pandemic levels in 2022-23 (Table 3).

Table 3: Indirect tourism GSP by state and territory, 2023-24

Tourism filled jobs 

Since 2022-23, the ABS has adopted ‘tourism filled jobs’ as the standard metric for reporting tourism employment. Therefore, the STSA also uses this metric (see explanatory notes for further information).

At the end of 2023-24, there were 691,500 direct tourism filled jobs, which was up 5.7% on the previous year. This compares with 2.7% growth in Australian jobs over the same period. As a result, tourism’s share of total filled jobs increased from 4.3% in 2022-23 to 4.4% in 2023-24. In 2018-19, before the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism provided 632,000 jobs, which was 4.6% of total jobs in Australia.

In addition to direct jobs, tourism generated a further 483,900 indirect jobs in the economy making a combined contribution of 1,175,400 direct and indirect jobs in the visitor economy. As a share of the economy, tourism’s indirect jobs contribution increased from a 3.0% share in 2022-23 to 3.1% in 2023-24. This share was 2.9% in 2018-19.

Compared with 2018-19 levels, all states and territories had higher tourism filled jobs in 2023-24 (Table 4). The increase in total tourism filled jobs in 2023-24 relative to the pre-pandemic level varied across jurisdiction:

• Queensland (+19%)
• Australian Capital Territory (+19%)
• Western Australia (+17%)
• Tasmania (+13%)
• New South Wales (+12%)
• South Australia (+12%)
• Victoria (+10%)
• Northern Territory (+9.0%). 

Table 4: Tourism filled jobs by state and territory, 2023-24

*Denotes direct and indirect tourism jobs

State Summaries

Australian Capital Territory summary

Tourism GSP

In 2023–24:

• total tourism GSP (both direct and indirect) was worth $3.2 billion to the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) economy (up 5.9% on 2022-23 and up 28% on 2018-19) 
• direct tourism GSP in the ACT was worth $1.6 billion (up 4.8% on 2022-23 and up 28% on 2018-19) 
• this was a 2.8% direct share of total territory GSP (down 0.1% point on 2022-23 and down 0.2% points on 2018-19) 
• indirect tourism GSP was worth an extra $1.6 billion to the ACT economy (up 7.0% on 2022-23 and up 28% on 2018-19) 
• total territory GSP was worth $55.4 billion (up 8.2% on 2022-23 and up 38% on 2018-19). 

Tourism GVA   

In 2023–24:

• total tourism GVA (both direct and indirect) was worth $2.8 billion to the ACT economy (up 5.9% on 2022-23 and up 27% on 2018-19). 
• direct tourism GVA in the ACT was worth $1.3 billion (up 6.7% on 2022-23 and up 27% on 2018-19) 
• this was a 2.5% direct share of total territory GVA (unchanged from 2022-23 and down 0.2% points on 2018-19) 
• indirect tourism GVA was worth an extra $1.4 billion to the ACT economy (up 5.2% on 2022-23 and up 27% on 2018-19) 
• total territory GVA was worth $52.9 billion (up 8.7% on 2022-23 and up 39% on 2018-19).

Tourism filled jobs  

In 2023–24:

• total tourism filled jobs (both direct and indirect) totalled 22,200 in the ACT (up 5.2% on 2022-23 and up 19% on 2018-19). 
• direct tourism filled jobs in the ACT totalled 11,700 (up 5.5% on 2022-23 and up 13% on 2018-19) 
• this was a 4.2% direct share of total territory filled jobs (up 0.1% point on 2022-23 and down 0.1% point on 2018-19) 
• indirectly tourism added a further 10,500 jobs in the ACT (up 4.6% on 2022-23 and up 26% on 2018-19) 
• total territory filled jobs amounted to 281,000 (up 3.7% on 2022-23 and up 15% on 2018-19). 

Notes

What is direct contribution? 

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, in this way.   

What is indirect contribution? 

The flow-on effect of the tourism industry. In the ACT, for every dollar spent in the tourism industry, an additional 81 cents of related additional expenditure was generated and spent elsewhere in the economy.  

Why we use GVA? 

GVA allows easier comparisons across industries. GVA is equal to GSP minus taxes.  

New South Wales summary

Tourism GSP 

In 2023–24: 

• total tourism GSP (both direct and indirect) was worth $48.2 billion to the New South Wales economy (up 13% on 2022-23 and up 26% on 2018-19)
• direct tourism GSP in New South Wales was worth $23.9 billion (up 12% on 2022-23 and up 30% on 2018-19)
• this was a 2.9% direct share of total state GSP (up 0.2% points on 2022-23 and in line with 2018-19)
• indirect tourism GSP was worth an extra $24.3 billion to the New South Wales economy (up 13% on 2022-23 and up 23% on 2018-19)
• total state GSP was worth $820.8 billion (up 5.3% on 2022-23 and up 31% on 2018-19)

Tourism GVA

In 2023–24: 

• total tourism GVA (both direct and indirect) was worth $41.7 billion to the New South Wales economy (up 12% on 2022-23 and up 25% on 2018-19). 
• direct tourism GVA in New South Wales was worth $20.2 billion (up 14% on 2022-23 and up 29% on 2018-19) 
•  this was a 2.7% direct share of total state GVA (up 0.2% points on 2022-23 and down 0.1% point on 2018-19) 
• indirect tourism GVA was worth an extra $21.5 billion to the New South Wales economy (up 11% on 2022-23 and up 22% on 2018-19) 
• total state GVA was worth $761.9 billion (up 5.3% on 2022-23 and up 32% on 2018-19). 

Tourism filled jobs 

In 2023–24: 

• total tourism filled jobs (both direct and indirect) totalled 328,200 in New South Wales (up 9.4% on 2022-23 and up 12% on 2018-19). 
• direct tourism filled jobs in New South Wales totalled 195,000 (up 8.8% on 2022-23 and up 7.2% on 2018-19) 
• this was a 3.9% direct share of total state’s filled jobs (up 0.2% points on 2022-23 and down 0.2% points on 2018-19) 
• indirectly tourism added a further 133,300 jobs in New South Wales (up 10% on 2022-23 and up 19% on 2018-19) 
• total state filled jobs amounted to 4.9 million (up 2.6% on 2022-23 and up 12% on 2018-19). 

Notes

What is direct contribution? 

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.   

What is indirect contribution? 

The flow-on effect of the tourism industry. In NSW, for every dollar spent in the tourism industry, an additional 83 cents of related additional expenditure was generated and spent elsewhere in the economy.  

Why we use GVA?

GVA allows easier comparisons across industries. GVA is equal to GSP minus taxes.   

Northern Territory summary

Tourism GSP

In 2023–24:

• total tourism GSP (both direct and indirect) was worth $3.0 billion to the NT economy (up 7.1% on 2022-23 and up 19% on 2018-19).
• direct tourism GSP in the NT (Northern Territory) was worth $1.5 billion (up 8.3% on 2022-23 and up 29% on 2018-19) 
• this was a 4.4% direct share of total territory GSP (up 0.3% points on 2022-23 and down 0.1% point on 2018-19)
• indirect tourism GSP was worth an extra $1.6 billion to the NT economy (up 5.9% on 2022-23 and up 11% on 2018-19)
• total territory GSP was worth $33.1 billion (up 0.2% on 2022-23 and up 31% on 2018-19).

Tourism GVA

In 2023–24:

• total tourism GVA (both direct and indirect) was worth $2.5 billion to the NT economy (up 6.9% on 2022-23 and up 20% on 2018-19).
• direct tourism GVA in the NT was worth $1.2 billion (up 10% on 2022-23 and up 27% on 2018-19)
• this was a 3.8% direct share of total territory GVA (up 0.3% points on 2022-23 and down 0.1% point on 2018-19)
• indirect tourism GVA was worth an extra $1.3 billion to the NT economy (up 4.5% on 2022-23 and up 14% on 2018-19).
• total territory GVA was worth $31.6 billion (up 0.2% points on 2022-23 and up 31% on 2018-19).

Tourism filled jobs

In 2023–24:

• total tourism filled jobs (both direct and indirect) totalled 17,000 in the NT (up 4.3% on 2022-23 and up 9.0% on 2018-19).
• direct tourism filled jobs in the NT totalled 8,000 (up 2.8% on 2022-23 and up 4.6% on 2018-19)
• this was a 5.1% direct share of total territory filled jobs (down 0.2% points on 2022-23 and down 0.5% points on 2018-19)
• indirectly tourism added a further 9,000 jobs in the NT (up 5.3% on 2022-23 and up 13% on 2018-19)
• total territory filled jobs amounted to 155,000 (up 6.2% on 2022-23 and up 14.8% on 2018-19).

Notes

What is direct contribution?

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. 

What is indirect contribution?

The flow-on effect of the tourism industry. In the NT, for every dollar spent in the tourism industry, an additional 80 cents of related additional expenditure was generated and spent elsewhere in the economy.

Why we use GVA?

GVA allows easier comparisons across industries. GVA is equal to GSP minus taxes.  

Queensland summary

Tourism GSP

In 2023–24:

• total tourism GSP (both direct and indirect) was worth $37.6 billion to the Queensland economy (up 5.5% on 2022-23 and up 33% on 2018-19).
• direct tourism GSP in Queensland was worth $18.7 billion (up 5.2% on 2022-23 and up 36% on 2018-19) 
• this was a 3.7% direct share of total state GSP (up 0.1% point on 2022-23 and down 0.1% point on 2018-19)
• indirect tourism GSP was worth an extra $18.9 billion to the Queensland economy (up 5.9% on 2022-23 and up 30% on 2018-19)
• total state GSP was worth $510.7 billion (up 1.1% on 2022-23 and up 40% on 2018-19).

Tourism GVA

In 2023–24:

• total tourism GVA (both direct and indirect) was worth $32.5 billion to the Queensland economy (up 4.8% on 2022-23 and up 31% on 2018-19).
• direct tourism GVA in Queensland was worth $15.7 billion (up 6.7% on 2022-23 and up 34% on 2018-19)
• this was a 3.3% direct share of total state GVA (up 0.2% points on 2022-23 and down 0.1% point on 2018-19)
• indirect tourism GVA was worth an extra $16.8 billion to the Queensland economy (up 3.2% on 2022-23 and up 28% on 2018-19)
• total state GVA was worth $478.2 billion (up 0.8% on 2022-23 and up 39% on 2018-19).

Tourism filled jobs

In 2023–24:

• total tourism filled jobs (both direct and indirect) totalled 276,800 in Queensland (up 2.6% on 2022-23 and up 19% on 2018-19).
• direct tourism filled jobs in Queensland totalled 156,000 (up 2.2% on 2022-23 and up 15% on 2018-19)
• this was a 5.0% direct share of total state’s filled jobs (unchanged from 2022-23 and up 0.2% points on 2018-19)
• indirectly tourism added a further 120,800 jobs in Queensland (up 3.2% on 2022-23 and up 25% on 2018-19)
• total state filled jobs amounted to 3.1 million (up 2.4% on 2022-23 and up 11% on 2018-19).

Notes

What is direct contribution?

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.   

What is indirect contribution?

The flow-on effect of the tourism industry. In Qld, for every dollar spent in the tourism industry, an additional 85 cents of related additional expenditure was generated and spent elsewhere in the economy.  

Why we use GVA?

GVA allows easier comparisons across industries. GVA is equal to GSP minus taxes.  

South Australia summary

Tourism GSP

In 2023–24:

• total tourism GSP (both direct and indirect) was worth $9.5 billion to the South Australian economy (up 1.9% on 2022-23 and up 22% on 2018-19).
• direct tourism GSP in South Australia was worth $4.4 billion (up 1.3% on 2022-23 and up 25% on 2018-19) 
• this was a 3.0% direct share of total state GSP (down 0.1% point from 2022-23 and down 0.3% points on 2018-19)
• indirect tourism GSP was worth an extra $5.0 billion to the South Australian economy (up 2.4% on 2022-23 and up 19% on 2018-19)
• total state GSP was worth $148.7 billion (up 5.9% on 2022-23 and up 36% on 2018-19).

Tourism GVA

In 2023–24:

• Total tourism GVA (both direct and indirect) was worth $7.9 billion to the South Australian economy (up 1.4% on 2022-23 and up 22% on 2018-19).
• direct tourism GVA in South Australia was worth $3.8 billion (up 2.8% on 2022-23 and up 24% on 2018-19)
• this was a 2.7% direct share of total state GVA (down 0.1% point on 2022-23 and down 0.3% points on 2018-19)
• indirect tourism GVA was worth an extra $4.1 billion to the South Australian economy (up 0.1% on 2022-23 and up 20% on 2018-19)
• total state GVA was worth $138.1 billion (up 5.2% on 2022-23 and up 36% on 2018-19).

Tourism filled jobs

In 2023–24:

• total tourism filled jobs (both direct and indirect) totalled 71,500 in South Australia (down 1.5% on 2022-23 and up 12% on 2018-19).
• direct tourism filled jobs in South Australia totalled 41,600 (down 2.4% on 2022-23 and up 7.8% on 2018-19)
• this was a 4.1% direct share of total state’s filled jobs (down 0.2% points on 2022-23 and down 0.1% point on 2018-19)
• indirectly tourism added a further 29,900 jobs in South Australia (down 0.1% on 2022-23 and up 17% on 2018-19)
• total state filled jobs amounted to 1.0 million (up 3.2% on 2022-23 and up 11% on 2018-19).

Notes

What is direct contribution?

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.

What is indirect contribution?

The flow-on effect of the tourism industry. In SA, for every dollar spent in the tourism industry, an additional 79 cents were spent elsewhere in the economy.

Why we use GVA?

GVA allows easier comparisons across industries. GVA is equal to GSP minus taxes.

Tasmania summary

Tourism GSP

In 2023–24:

• total tourism GSP (both direct and indirect) was worth $4.5 billion to the Tasmanian economy (up 15% on 2022-23 and up 23% on 2018-19).
• direct tourism GSP in Tasmania was worth $2.3 billion (up 13% on 2022-23 and up 28% on 2018-19) 
• this was a 5.4% direct share of total state GSP (up 0.4% points on 2022-23 and down 0.3% points on 2018-19)
• indirect tourism GSP was worth an extra $2.3 billion to the Tasmanian economy (up 17% on 2022-23 and up 19% on 2018-19)
• total state GSP was worth $42.1 billion (up 5.0% on 2022-23 and up 34% on 2018-19).

Tourism GVA

In 2023–24:

• total tourism GVA (both direct and indirect) was worth $4.0 billion to the Tasmanian economy (up 15% on 2022-23 and up 23% on 2018-19).
• direct tourism GVA in Tasmania was worth $1.9 billion (up 15% on 2022-23 and up 27% on 2018-19)
• this was a 4.8% direct share of total state GVA (up 0.4% points on 2022-23 and down 0.3% points on 2018-19)
• indirect tourism GVA was worth an extra $2.1 billion to the Tasmanian economy (up 15% on 2022-23 and up 20% on 2018-19)
• total state GVA was worth $39.5 billion (up 4.5% on 2022-23 and up 34% on 2018-19).

Tourism filled jobs

In 2023–24:

• total tourism filled jobs (both direct and indirect) totalled 50,800 in Tasmania (up 14% on 2022-23 and up 13% on 2018-19).
• direct tourism filled jobs in Tasmania totalled 22,800 (up 14% on 2022-23 and up 7.0% on 2018-19)
• this was a 7.0% direct share of total state’s filled jobs (up 0.7% points on 2022-23 and down 0.3% points on 2018-19)
• indirectly tourism added a further 28,000 jobs in Tasmania (up 15% on 2022-23 and up 18% on 2018-19)
• total state filled jobs amounted to 325,000 (up 2.5% on 2022-23 and up 11% on 2018-19).

Notes

What is direct contribution?

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.

What is indirect contribution?

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.

Why we use GVA?

GVA allows easier comparisons across industries. GVA is equal to GSP minus taxes.

Victoria summary

Tourism GSP

In 2023–24:

• total tourism GSP (both direct and indirect) was worth $36.0 billion to the Victorian economy (up 13% on 2022-23 and up 23% on 2018-19).
• direct tourism GSP in Victoria was worth $18 billion (up 13% on 2022-23 and up 24% on 2018-19) 
• this was a 3.0% direct share of total state GSP (up 0.2% points on 2022-23 and down 0.2% points on 2018-19)
• indirect tourism GSP was worth an extra $18.0 billion to the Victorian economy (up 12% on 2022-23 and up 21% on 2018-19)
• total state GSP was worth $606.1 billion (up 5.9% on 2022-23 and up 31% on 2018-19).

Tourism GVA

In 2023–24:

• total tourism GVA (both direct and indirect) was worth $31.3 billion to the Victorian economy (up 12% on 2022-23 and up 21% on 2018-19).
• direct tourism GVA in Victoria was worth $15.2 billion (up 15% on 2022-23 and up 23% on 2018-19)
• this was a 2.7% direct share of total state GVA (up 0.2% points on 2022-23 and down 0.2% points on 2018-19)
• indirect tourism GVA was worth an extra $16.1 billion to the Victorian economy (up 10% on 2022-23 and up 20% on 2018-19)
• total state GVA was worth $563.0 billion (up 6.1% on 2022-23 and up 32% on 2018-19).

Tourism filled jobs

In 2023–24:

• total tourism filled jobs (both direct and indirect) totalled for 288,800 jobs in Victoria (up 8.4% on 2022-23 and up 10% on 2018-19).
• direct tourism filled jobs in Victoria totalled 183,800 jobs (up 7.4% on 2022-23 and up 7.1% on 2018-19)
• this was a 4.5% direct share of total state’s filled jobs (up 0.2% points on 2022-23 and down 0.4% points on 2018-19)
• indirectly tourism added a further 105,000 jobs in Victoria (up 10% 2022-23 and up 17% on 2018-19)
• total state filled jobs amounted to 4.1 million (up 2.6% on 2022-23 and up 16% on 2018-19).

Notes

What is direct contribution?

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.   

What is indirect contribution?

The flow-on effect of the tourism industry. In Victoria, for every dollar spent in the tourism industry, an additional 84 cents of related additional expenditure was generated and spent elsewhere in the economy.

Why we use GVA?

GVA allows easier comparisons across industries. GVA is equal to GSP minus taxes.

Western Australia summary

Tourism GSP

In 2023–24:

• total tourism GSP (both direct and indirect) was worth $15.9 billion to the Western Australian economy (up 7.7% on 2022-23 and up 29% on 2018-19).
• direct tourism GSP in Western Australia was worth $7.8 billion (up 5.8% on 2022-23 and up 30% on 2018-19) 
• this was a 1.7% direct share of total state GSP (up 0.1% point on 2022-23 and down 0.4% points on 2018-19)
• indirect tourism GSP was worth an extra $8.1 billion to the Western Australian economy (up 10% on 2022-23 and up 29% on 2018-19)
• total state GSP was worth $455.7 billion (up 2.2% on 2022-23 and up 59% on 2018-19).

Tourism GVA

In 2023–24:

• total tourism GVA (both direct and indirect) was worth $13.8 billion to the Western Australian economy (up 7.2% on 2022-23 and up 28% on 2018-19).
• direct tourism GVA in Western Australia was worth $6.6 billion (up 7.6% on 2022-23 and up 29% on 2018-19)
• this was a 1.5% direct share of total state GVA (up 0.1% point on 2022-23 and down 0.4% points on 2018-19)
• indirect tourism GVA was worth an extra $7.2 billion to the Western Australian economy (up 6.8% on 2022-23 and up 28% on 2018-19)
• total state GVA was worth $439.9 billion (up 2.1% on 2022-23 and up 59% on 2018-19).

Tourism filled jobs

In 2023–24:

• total tourism filled jobs (both direct and indirect) totalled for 120,100 in Western Australia (up 5.0% on 2022-23 and up 17% on 2018-19).
• direct tourism filled jobs in Western Australia totalled 72,700 jobs (up 4.1% on 2022-23 and up 13% on 2018-19)
• this was a 4.4% direct share of total state’s filled jobs (unchanged from both 2022-23 and 2018-19)
• indirectly tourism added a further 47,400 jobs in Western Australia (up 6.4% on 2022-23 and up 25% on 2018-19)
• total state filled jobs amounted to 1.7 million (up 4.1% on 2022-23 and up 13% on 2018-19).

Notes

What is direct contribution?

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.

What is indirect contribution?

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.

Why we use GVA?

GVA allows easier comparisons across industries. GVA is equal to GSP minus taxes.

Data tables

Find out more about tourism consumption, jobs and economic activity in our data tables.

Changes in this issue

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) undertook a comprehensive review of the methods and data sources used to compile the TSA for the 2023–24 release. This resulted in changes to all economic variables in the TSA, including tourism consumption. In addition, the method for calculating direct net taxes on goods has been revised to reflect that tourists pay the full amount of upstream tax (GST and sales tax). Tourism GVA, net taxes and GDP have been revised back to 2004–05. However, the time series at the industry and product level, as well as tourism employment, has only been updated back to 2016–17. The table names, numbering and applicable time series in the data cubes available for downloading have also been revised. For further details on these changes please refer Revisions in the NTSA.

Based on published estimates in 2022-23 and 2023-24 ABS National Tourism satellite Account ABS Cat. No 5249.0

Note: For specific query related to ABS’ methodological review and changes to the data sources, please contact via email: physical.environment.accounts.and.statistics.branch.wdb@abs.gov.au

Explanatory notes

Revisions to the 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 2021-22 which reflect in revision of some benchmark ratios and some imputed ratios for the indicators which were not available.

Indirect contribution estimates for international visitors are estimated using share of visitor consumption on different goods and services in total consumption expenditure. For two years 2020-21 and 2021-22 these ratios were not available due to break in international visitor data collection due to COVID-19 restrictions. In the model to fix these issues, 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), for year ending June 2017 to year ending June 2024. 

Methodology

Development of the STSA requires internal data (Regional Expenditure) from Tourism Research Australia (TRA) along with the Australian Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) data, Labour Accounts Australia data, and State Accounts data which are provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

It is important to note that the ABS undertook a comprehensive methodological revision of the TSA in 2022-23, adopting new data sources to make the accounts more responsive to changes in socio-economic and environmental scenarios at national and international levels, applying the revision from 2016-17 onwards. As the STSA is constrained by the availability of data and builds on the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) Australian Tourism Satellite Account, the STSA contains state level results from 2016-17 onwards.

Australian System of National Accounts

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: 

• measures the economic contribution of tourism 
• supplements the SNA. 

Comparisons can then be made between: 

• the tourism sector’s economic contribution, and 
• conventional industries’ contribution within an economy. 

The TSA also enables comparison between Australian and international tourism sectors, since it uses the same standardised methodology developed by the UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organisation). This ensures consistent data collection and calculation across different countries, allowing for meaningful comparisons of tourism's economic impact globally. 

Check the ABS’ Australian National Accounts: Tourism Satellite Account methodology for more information on the National TSA. 

Sources for data and methodology

TThe 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: 

• supply of tourism at the state/territory level 
• demand for tourism at the state/territory level. 

The main sources for the data and methodology are: 

• unpublished modelled regional expenditure data from Tourism Research Australia’s: 
  • International Visitor Survey (IVS) 
  • National Visitor Survey (NVS). 
• I-O database from The Enormous Regional Model (Horridge, Madden & Wittwer, 2003). 
• National TSA produced by the ABS (2021). 
• Pham, T.D., L. Dwyer and R. Spurr (2009) ‘Constructing a regional TSA: The case of Queensland’, Tourism Analysis, 13, 5/6, pp. 445-460. 
• Pham, T.D. and Dwyer, L. (2013), ‘Tourism Satellite Account and Its applications in CGE Modelling’, in Tisdell (ed), The Handbook of Tourism Economics – Analysis, New Applications and Case Studies, Chapter 22, World Scientific Publishing. 
• Dwyer, L. and Pham, T.D. (2012), ‘CGE Modelling’, in Dwyer, Gill and Seetaram (eds), Research Methods in Tourism, Chapter 13, Edward Elgar Publishing. 

Indirect and total contribution of tourism 

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 calculating tourism’s indirect effects 

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.