Tourism to Australia grows in 2012 led by China and South Pacific

A total of 6.1 million international visitors arrived in Australia last year, an annual increase of 4.6 percent, reported Tourism Australia last week.

The primary source of growth is the outbound Asian market, which has been making a big impact in destinations around the world throughout 2012.

China surpassed the UK to become the second largest source of international visitors with more than 625,000 arrivals, up 16 percent over 2011. Another seven of the top ten inbound international markets are located in the Asia and South Pacific region including Singapore and Japan.

The number of outbound tourists from these regions is expected to grow throughout 2013, an opportunity that Australia plans to take advantage of.

“… it’s not all about China, and that’s a message the industry needs to bear in mind as we move into 2013….We mustn’t underestimate the importance of these other Asian markets, like India, Malaysia, Singapore and, in time, Vietnam,” said Andrew McEvoy, Managing Director of Tourism Australia.

Visitors from the UK and Western Europe have decreased in recent years due to the economy prompting Tourism Australia to launch a TV and digital ad campaign in the UK this week.

Arrival numbers by country can be found below:

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