TRA’s annual State of the Industry report presents a snapshot of Australia’s tourism industry in 2021.

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Summary

Australia’s visitor economy continued to be deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. This report uses data from multiple sources to highlight various industry and government pandemic responses during the year.

While Australia’s visitor economy has shown resilience and persistence since the pandemic began, 2021 was a particularly difficult year. However, 2021 also saw the:

  • rapid return of domestic tourism in 2021 following lockdowns
  • reopening of Australia’s border towards the end of the year, and further announcements for the new year.

These factors spurred rising optimism for 2022.

Visitor economy outlook

The visitor economy outlook is more positive now than during the past two years. However, conditions are still challenging and recovery will take time, particularly for businesses and regions reliant on international tourists. The visitor economy also faces serious labour shortages and increased international competition.

Plan for the future

2022 will be a critical year for the industry as the recovery gains momentum. The THRIVE 2030 Strategy for the Australian visitor economy is an industry-led, government-enabled plan. It provides an action plan to rebuild and grow the sector. It aims to see visitor economy spend reach $230 billion by the year 2030.

How this year’s report is different

TRA has changed the format of the State of the Industry report this year to reflect the depth of changes in the visitor economy over recent years. This year, the report:

  • reviews the 2021 calendar year. Previous editions of the report (pre-pandemic) reviewed financial years
  • gives a more detailed explanation of challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. This includes contributions, such as case studies, by TRA’s research partners
  • focuses on the large and growing contribution of the international education sector. This was often omitted from tourism analysis in the past but has been included to ensure the report aligns with the THRIVE 2030 Strategy’s objectives and vision.

Demand and supply metrics

Demand metrics

Demand metric

Description

2019 value

2021 value

Change 2021 on 2019 (pre-pandemic)

Change 2021 on 2020

Total visitor spend

Combined value of total international visitor and total domestic visitor spend (in Australia only, excluding international students staying more than 12 months)

$138.5 billion

$80.4 billion

-42% down

14% up

International visitor spend

Spend from international visitors in Australia only (excluding international students staying more than 12 months)

$31.4 billion

$1.4 billion

-96% down

-82% down

Domestic overnight visitor spend

Spend by Australian residents who travel away from home for at least one night

$80.7 billion

$60.7 billion

-25% down

33% up

Domestic day trip visitor spend

Spend by Australian residents travelling on a day trip (more than 4 hours and 50 km round-trip from their home)

$26.3 billion

$18.3 billion

-31% down

5% up

Total visitor economy spend*

Combined value of total international visitor and total domestic visitor spend (in Australia only) including international students staying more than 12 months

$166.4 billion

$102.8 billion

-38% down

4% up

International visitors

All international visitors to Australia aged 15 or over who stay less than 12 months

8.7 million

223.7 thousand

-97% down

-87% down

International student enrolments

Enrolments by students studying in Australia on a student visa across all sectors

952.2 thousand

716.9 thousand

-25% down

-19% down

Domestic overnight trips

Australian residents aged 15 or over who travel away from home for at least one night

117.4 million

82.1 million

-30% down

13% up

Domestic day trips

Australian residents aged 15 or over travelling on a day trip (more than 4 hours and 50 km round-trip from their home)

248.3 million

160.5 million

-35% down

-2% down

Domestic outbound trips**

Australian residents aged 15 or over travelling out of Australia for less than 12 months

9.9 million

228 thousand

-98% down

-95% down

* This metric aligns with the THRIVE 2030 Strategy spend targets

** Data for year ending September (outbound data is only available with a 3-month lag).

Supply metrics

Supply metric

Description

2019 value

2021 value

Change 2021 on 2019 (pre-pandemic)

Change 2021 on 2020

Accommodation rooms

Total number of rooms available in accommodation establishments with 10 rooms or more

304.9 thousand

308.8 thousand

1% up

7% up

Accommodation occupancy

Percentage of rooms sold, or occupied in establishments of 10 rooms or more

70.9%

53.3%

-18 percentage points (ppts) down

10ppts up

International aviation seats

Total number of seats available on flights to Australia

26.8 million

3.6 million

-86% down

-50% down

International aviation load factor

Percentage of seats on flights into Australia occupied by revenue passengers

81.7%

19.3%

-62ppts down

-48ppts down

Domestic aviation seats

Number of seats available to people flying within Australia

69.0 million

30.8 million

-55% down

32% up

Domestic aviation load factor

Percentage of seats on domestic flights occupied by revenue passengers

75.4%

54.7%

-21ppts down

-2ppts down

Tourism investment*

Total value of investment in tourism infrastructure projects valued over $20 million

$45.3 billion

$41.8 billion

-8% down

-4% down

Tourism jobs

Number of filled jobs in the tourism industry

749.4 thousand

628.9 thousand

-16% down

no change

Tourism businesses*

Number of Australian businesses in tourism-related industries

320.7 thousand

334.5 thousand

4% up

3% up

* Data for year ending June (financial year basis).

Data sources for tables

Tourism spend and trips data

International student enrolment data

Tourism jobs data

Australian Bureau of Statistics, Tourism Satellite Accounts: quarterly tourism labour statistics, Australia, experimental estimates, December 2021, accessed May 2022

Domestic and international aviation data

Accommodation rooms and occupancy rates data

STR, subscription data, accessed May 2022

Tourism investment and tourism businesses data