The Tourism & Transport Forum Australia (TTF) has welcomed the release of the latest National Visitor Survey which shows more Australians are exploring their homeland and the ABS Tourism Satellite Account that shows the growth of the tourism sector is outstripping the broader economy by three times.

“What better early Christmas present for the tourism sector than another round of strong figures showing that the industry continues to be the apple of the economy’s eye?” said Margy Osmond, TTF CEO.

“The latest National Visitor Survey shows that the nation’s visitor economy goes from strength to strength with more Australians choosing to explore the beauty and attractions of their island continent like never before.

“In the 12 months to September we have recorded 89.4 million overnight trips and Australian domestic tourists have spent a whopping $59.8 billion seeing their own country – that is up $2.9 billion in just the past year.

“Considering that regional and rural Australia are big drawcards for domestic visitation, that is a real boost to regional economies right across the country, supporting thousands of jobs and economic activity.

“This result is a testament to the great work being done by our industry and the state-based tourism bodies with their campaigns to encourage more Australians to holiday at home.

“On top of that we have seen the latest Tourism Satellite Account figures that show the tourism sector has grown a rate of 7.4 per cent in 2015-16 – that is more than three times the growth of the total Australian economy (2.3 per cent).

“The visitor economy continues to be the shining beacon for the Australian economy and we simply cannot afford to stop investing in improving the visitor experience and marketing Australia as a destination of choice for both our people and millions of international visitors.

“I trust that after the Federal Government has increased taxes and charges on the tourism industry this year through the backpacker tax and the $60 holiday tax – the Passenger Movement Charge on travellers that they will back the industry in 2017 with a positive growth agenda.”