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Travelling to Australia - News
Australia attracts a record number of tourists - April 2006
Australia’s diverse, contemporary and multicultural environment provides an attractive destination for a record number of tourists.
Australia’s tourism exports grew by 5.4% to a record of $18.3 billion between 2003-2004 and 2004-2005, according to the ABS Tourism Satellite Account figures released this week. Tourism is now a $75 billion industry. This is an increase of 28% since 1997-1998. The number of jobs in the tourism industry grew by 13,500 between 2003-2004 and 2004-2005. The tourism industry now employs 550,100 people. Tourism accounted for $32.6 billion (or 3.7%) of total GDP in 2004-2005.
International tourism continues to perform strongly, in contrast to the relatively flat domestic tourist market. International tourism in now worth 24.8% of tourism GDP, the highest level on record. Total tourism consumption increased by 2.3% in 2004-2005. This was driven by the strong growth in international tourism consumption, of 5.4%.
EUROPE LEARNS OF AUSTRALIAS TROPICAL ECO TOURISM - 8 December 2005
The Daintree Rainforest of Far North Queensland encompasses an area of approximately 1200 sq kilometres, from the Daintree River north to Cooktown and west to the Great Divide, representing the single largest block of tropical rainforest in Australia . Approximately 75 per cent is tropical rainforest, an area equivalent to about the size of the city of Sydney. This tropical rainforest ecosystem is one of the most complex on earth. Its plant diversity and structural complexity is unrivalled on the Australian continent and represents the ancient origins of Australian' flora. Rugged 4WD roads penetrate the forest crossing mountains streams and secluded pristine beaches.
European tourists are being encouraged to focus on tropical Australia , including ecotourism in Queensland . Addressing a group of European tour operators and wholesalers currently attending the annual Queensland on Stage - Europe Promotion Workshop in Brisbane , the State’s Tourism Minister, Ms Margaret Keech, urged European tour agents and travellers to add more Queensland tours and destinations into their packages for 2006.
Ms Keech told the tour agents from Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland and The Netherlands that Queensland was the best ecotourism destination in Australia and offered a broad range of eco-tourism experiences which would be attractive to European travellers.
These included tropical rain forests, the Great Barrier Reef, wild rivers and coral atolls and island resorts.
“ Queensland boasts 40 per cent of certified ecotourism tours and destinations in Australia,” she said. “This means that 208 of the 516 tours and destinations certified in Australia are located right here in Queensland.
“We know Europeans love ecotourism experiences and Queensland provides the best experiences” she said. “We also know that high levels of service are linked to visitor satisfaction and we want visitors to return home with great memories and vowing to return to Queensland".
“We want them telling their families, friends and associates of the great experiences available in Queensland.”
Mrs Keech said the European market was traditionally one of Queensland 's top five markets - and the Government was determined to grow it even further.
“It is a market well worth pursuing," she said.
Recent figures show an increase of almost 16 per cent in the number of Europeans who came to Queensland in the year ended September. European visitors spend on average approximately AUD3254.00 while in Australia. This amount excludes package tours and prepaid international fares.
At the Brisbane Promotion Workshop, the European agents were provided with a range of new reasons and methods to package Queensland ’s ecotourism products. Also in attendance were some 70 Queensland operators keen to include their products in 2006 tour programs out of Europe.
Mrs Keech said the influential European buyers would be involved in tours before and after the workshop. They would visit south-east Queensland , the Whitsunday Barrier Reef Islands, Outback and Tropical North Queensland.