Australian tourism still on the increase

A recent report issued by the Australian Bureau of Statistics has shown that even with the current global recession, the demand for visas from tourists wanting to visit Australia is still on the increase. The study also shows that the prevalent increase is coming in the main from Asia. It seems that the main source of tourism is from Australia’s closest neighbours – countries such as China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

Positive news for Australia and the Tourism industry

The report was for the year 2011 and it showed clearly that there was a rise of 3.4% in August , in comparison with the same month in 2010. This has been seen as very optimistic news for the tourist industry in Australia. It would appear to be one of the only industries on the increase when most businesses are struggling due to the economic downturn. The figures show that visitors from Indonesia have doubled while tourists from Malaysia have increased by a massive 34%. Visitors from China have increased by 21%.

On the flip side of the coin it would seem that there is clearly a fall in numbers of temporary visitors from other parts of the world. For instance, the amount of people visiting from Europe has decreased by 3.9%. Statistics show that visitors from the United States of America have fallen by 4.4% and Canadian visitors by 5.0%. When ministers analysed the figures the general feeling was the reduction from western countries could be attributed to weak economic conditions.

Future openings for Employment in Australia

When interviewed on the findings of the report, Senator Nick Sherry, the Minister for Small Business commented on how these positive figures would have powerful implications for the tourism industry in terms of employment.  Mr Sherry was able to project into the future in regards of future career and employment openings.  He said "By 2015, our tourism industry may need as many as 56,000 extra workers, making the labour market even tighter. The Labour and Skills Working Group add value to that task."

The increase in tourism will also be beneficial in the sense that increasing net migration and rising population will additionally support the volume of foreign exchange transactions in the coming five years.  Tourists who visit Australia exchange foreign currency for Australian dollars. This will generate a significant portion of transaction for industry participants.