Victoria records massive 57 per cent jump in foreign visitor spending
Tourists are spending an unprecedented amount of money in Victoria as figures show it is outpacing every other state and territory.
Victoria
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International tourists have spent a record $39.7b in Victoria as the state outpaces the rest of Australia in foreign visitor spending.
New national figures reveal international spending in Victoria has now surpassed pre-Covid 2019 levels, growing by a massive 57 per cent compared to last year.
Tourism Research Australia’s National Visitor Survey and International Visitor Survey shows tourism spend hit the unprecedented mark in the year ending September 2024.
Spending by international travellers in regional Victoria has reached a new high of $630m.
With tourists flocking to the likes of the AFL Grand Final, F1 Grand Prix and Australian Open tennis, Victoria’s 57 per cent international visitor expenditure growth was the highest of any mainland state.
The Australian average across the same period was 26 per cent, while NSW rose 17 per cent and Queensland jumped 16 per cent.
Tourism Minister Steve Dimopoulos said: “It’s no surprise that Victoria is outshining other states when it comes to international tourism.
“We’re the only city on the planet with a Grand Prix and Grand Slam, the Boxing Day Test, the AFL Grand Final, the race that stops the nation, gigs across the state and a world-class major events calendar all year.
“Who wouldn’t want to come here – we’re the major events capital, the sporting capital, the live music capital and the culinary capital of Australia.”
Melbourne was also top capital city for interstate Australians travelling overnight for leisure, with 3.8m visitors staying a total of 15 million nights and spending $5.5 billion.
September’s AFL Grand Final saw hotel occupancy at 86.9 per cent on the day according to STR data, 6.6 percentage points higher than the Saturday before.
China remains Victoria’s biggest international market with visitors spending $2.6b – up 63 per cent compared to last year.
But Victoria was also the destination of choice for Indian visitors travelling to Australia, with 203,600 people from the sub continent staying a total of 11 million nights and spending $590m in the state this quarter up more than 31 per cent on last year.
Visit Victoria chief executive Brendan McClements said: “We know visitors from all over our country and the globe want to visit our incredible products and destinations and that is emphasised by this record $39.7 billion tourism spend.”
The record international spend was $2.6m higher than it was in 2019.
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