Tourism earnings reach five-year low, but local operators upbeat on new visitors, investments

The gap between what Australians spend overseas and what tourists spend here has widened, with earnings from international tourism nearing a five-year low at the end of 2011.

But local groups are looking on the bright side, saying although it was a tough Christmas, new capital investment and new groups of visitors from far-flung markets are heartening.

Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that Australians spent $2.8 billion overseas in November, $400 million more than the $2.4 billion earned here.

While the number of Australian going overseas soared by 8.6%, short-term arrivals to Australia edged up just 0.3% on the previous year.

Peter Solly, general manager of Tourism Central Australia, says there’s been a pleasing increase in tourist numbers from France and North America – hard-hit markets during the global financial crisis.

“There were some positive incoming groups, particularly from the US and France,” Solly says, referring to the Christmas period.

“It’s good to see faces from North America, because that’s been a hard-hit market for us.”

Still, Solly says there’s no doubt it’s been a “tough” summer, not just in central Australia.

“The strong Australian dollar and the GFC have impacted on the way people travel,” he says.

But amid criticisms that local tourism offerings are tired and failing to effectively defend themselves from cheap flights overseas, Solly says new facilities and festivals across central Australia highlights tourism groups are “taking the bull by the horns”.

“There are some really good positive indicators around, indications people in are investing in their offerings.”

A report by Tourism Research Australia this year noted the number of Australians travelling overseas has grown by an average 7.5% over the past decade, whereas international visitor numbers were similar to where they were 10 years ago.