Island reaps benefit of record high tourism spend

Visitor expenditure in Victoria has hit a record high of $35 billion annually, according to the latest data released by Tourism Research Australia.

It shows visitor expenditure in Victoria for the year ending March 2023 surpassed the 2019 pre-Covid peak of $32.5 billion.

While Melbourne remained the number one interstate overnight leisure destination in the country, Phillip Island led the way for regional tourism.

The research showed all tourism regions hit all-time highs, with visitor spending in Phillip Island increasing by 75 per cent, High Country up by 73 per cent, and the Grampians rising by 66 per cent since 2019.

Overall intrastate overnight visitation numbers to regional Victoria were up six per cent since 2019, with total nights increasing by eight per cent and expenditure up 58 per cent.

In another big win, Victoria is leading the nation’s tourism recovery. The state attracted 22.1 per cent of Australia’s total visitor expenditure over the 12-month period and made the largest market share gains in the country with a 2.9 percentage point growth.

International markets continued to recover reaching $4.2 billion in visitor expenditure in Victoria in the year ending March 2023 – approximately 50 per cent of 2019 levels.

China has returned as the number one international market after only reopening in January and India continues to be a growing international market with visitor expenditure now 11 per cent higher than in 2019.

Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos said tourism was critical to the state’s economy.

“These are outstanding results for the Victorian tourism industry which has shown incredible resilience and innovation in recent years.

“There’s no question that Victoria is back and top of the list for travellers from across the globe.”