Skift Take
It is the strength of the Australian dollar that has bled internal tourists to nearby Asian lands, and the lackluster tourism campaigns are not attracting foreign tourists either.
Australia’s struggling tourism industry is in for another tough year, with the high Aussie dollar and fierce competition from Asian destinations conspiring to keep tourists away from our overpriced hotels and resorts.
The $96 billion industry is expected to decline by 1.6 per cent in 2012-2013.
It is little wonder that in 2008, for the first time in 22 years, resident departures exceeded visitor arrivals. Since then the gap between the number of Australian departures and international arrivals has continued to grow at an alarming rate – in the 2012 financial year there were 2.1 million more departures than arrivals into Australia, up from 1.5 million the previous year and 70,100 in 2008.
The Daily Newsletter
Our daily coverage of the global travel industry. Written by editors and analysts from across Skift’s brands.
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