Aussies splurging while travelling overseas

AUSTRALIANS are taking advantage of strong dollar and spending up big overseas, but tourists are spending less here.

Tourists shopping in the Bahamas

AUSTRALIANS are taking advantage of the strong dollar and spending up big overseas, but tourists are spending less when they visit.

Travellers spent $6.8 million on their Visa cards last year - six per cent more than the year before.

But the amount spent by tourists coming to Australia fell nearly eight per cent to $4.8 billion, the Visa Travel Snapshot shows.

Tourists from the United Kingdom spent nearly 15 per cent less last year, but were still the biggest spenders at $833 million.

Japanese visitors spent 12 per cent less, or $201 million.

Tourists from the United States spent $610 million and those from New Zealand spent nearly $582 million.

China and Singapore were the only two countries in the top ten source markets to record growth in visitor spending last year.

Spending by Chinese tourists was up 0.3 percent to $221.4 million while spending by visitors from Singapore rose by 4 per cent to $178.8 million.