Fifth Consecutive Month of Double-Digit Growth In International Visitation

6 July 2016

Australia welcomed 542,000 international visitor arrivals during May, an increase of 11.4 per cent, and the fifth consecutive month of double-digit growth in international visitor arrivals this year.

“Australian tourism has really earned its stripes in recent years as a key pillar of economic growth for our country. That’s certainly very evident in the impressive double-digit growth that we’re seeing in our international visitor arrivals since the start of the year," said Tourism Australia Managing Director John O’Sullivan.

“In Tourism Australia’s marketing activities we continue to play to our strengths, with the latest focus on aquatic and coastal resonating well overseas and providing another layer to Australia’s global destination appeal,” he said.

Mr O’Sullivan said that the continued revival in the Japanese market – off the back of recent aviation capacity increases by ANA and Qantas – demonstrated the importance of developing a strong network of airline partners and adopting a proactive approach towards aviation development.

For the year ending May 2016, total international arrivals reached 7.78 million, an increase of 9.6 per cent relative to the previous year, equating to an extra 682,000 visitors.