Territory bombs out in key Asian tourist markets

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p2379-parks-freeBy ERWIN CHLANDA
 
While Australia had an 11% growth in tourism from key Asian markets, the Northern Territory’s increase was well under half that.
 
The NT had the poorest increase in visitor numbers, 5%, and shares with WA the smallest increase in spending by visitors, 4%.
 
By comparison, other states had massive spending increases: SA 19%, NSW 16%, Tasmania 14% and Queensland 11%.
 
The NT had 239,000 visitors in the last year, and earned $439m from that market sector.
 
The NT also had the poorest three-year change, 13%, in terms of visitor numbers, and in spend, with 12% it is ahead only of WA which had 8%.
 
Federal Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Steven Ciobo, says the latest International Visitor Survey shows that growth across key Asian markets has resulted in a $12.3b contribution to the Australian economy in the last year.
 
“Australia’s tourism industry is currently growing three times as fast as the rest of the Australian economy, with tourists from China, Japan and Korea fuelling this booming economic activity.
 
“Spending by Chinese tourists now exceeds $9b annually, which was the stretch target government and industry aimed to reach in the year 2020 as part of the Tourism 2020 strategy.
 
“This target was reached four years early and annual growth from the Chinese market now exceeds 20%,” says Mr Ciobo.
 
“The Korean market has once again boomed with tourists from this market soaring 29% in the last 12 months. Spending by Korean tourists reached $1.6b in the last year.
 
“There are encouraging signs Japanese tourists are once again falling in love with Australia, with tourists from Japan jumping 22% in the last year to reach a seven year high.
 
“Spending by Japanese tourists reached $1.6b in the last year. Japanese visitors accounted for 20% of the total growth in international visitor numbers to tropical North Queensland, outstripping all other regions across the country.”
 
IMAGE: A social media comment from a grey nomad.
 
 

7 COMMENTS

  1. Our Chinese tourism market is increasing, but it’s a slow process to market an area of Australia that doesn’t have theme parks, mammoth shopping centres, and entertainment 24/7.
    I’d like to see the marketing and research that has been done to find out what the Asian tourist is looking for.
    Does the NT cater to their tastes, or try to attract them to our beautiful landscapes and cultural richness?
    The government has had success in taking the local tour operators to the international expos instead of bureaucrats.
    These operators show the passion they have for our country, and I think it’s paying off.
    The high cost of internal airfares wouldn’t help our plight either. We just have to keep plugging away.

  2. Asians demand budget flights or they won’t come.
    Japan gets 20 million Chinese tourists per annum. Australia gets one million.
    Tourism NT has massive growth and employment potential. A unique NT experience awaits ALL!
    Get budget airlines operating or promotion dollars are wasted.

  3. @ James: That’s not a fair or nice comment James, try living in Victoria at the moment, youths trashing facilities, gangs breaking into your house at all hours of the night, and day, bashing you, leaving you for dead and stealing your cars.
    I can sleep far easier in Alice than I could in Victoria, and I talk from experience.

  4. It’s great to see sustainable growth out of Asia into the Northern Territory.
    Traditionally it has been European markets that have formed the basis of international visitation to the Red Centre, however there are other markets coming into the mix such as some Asian markets.
    The traditional European markets will continue to be the mainstay of international visitation to the Red Centre for the foreseeable future, however once airlines open routes to Darwin from Asian ports, this will of course grow our Asian based visitation significantly.

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