Tourism Australia's strategy of targeting high-yielding international visitors is paying off, with spending by international travellers reaching a record high of $34.8 billion in the year to September 30.
The 13 per cent rise in spending was nearly double the 7 per cent increase in arrivals to 6.68 million during the period, which was also a record, and represented the strongest growth since 2001. The September quarter figures were even stronger, with spending up by 19 per cent after having picked up pace throughout the year.
Tourism and International Education Minister Richard Colbeck said the government's efforts to boost flight capacity, its visa reforms and focused international marketing was increasing Australia's appeal in the growing global tourism market.
The number of Chinese visitors rose by 22 per cent to 896,000 over the last 12 months, with spending up 43 per cent to $7.7 billion for Australia's most lucrative market. There was also record spending by visitors from New Zealand, the US, India, Singapore, Malaysia and other key markets.
Tourism Australia managing director John O'Sullivan said the figures showed Australia's strategy of luring high-spending visitors, with a focus on marketing its food and wine, was paying off.
"The tyranny of time, distance and cost mean that Australia will never be a high volume destination, which is why our Tourism 2020 strategy is unashamedly focused upon yield: encouraging international visitors to stay longer, disperse further and ultimately do more and spend more while in our country," he said.
"Looking at these latest figures, we're clearly making solid progress, with international spending for the 12 month period growing nearly twice as fast as our already strong international arrivals numbers."
Spending by international visitors rose in all states and territories except for Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
Queensland's Sunshine Coast, which had a 4.5 per cent rise in visitors during the period, said it expected further benefits in the coming months from Bindi Irwin's appearance on the US version of Dancing with the Stars.
"She did a brilliant job promoting Queensland and her Sunshine Coast home-base, and with the American dollar maintaining its high value against the Australian dollar, we believe we can really translate the 'Bindi factor' into substantial US increases," Visit Sunshine Coast chief executive Simon Ambrose said.
Mr Colbeck said the education market had also been a strong contributor to tourism over the last year, with education visitor numbers up 19 per cent and spending up 27 per cent to $8.2 billion.
"With approximately 600,000 international students currently enrolled onshore, and growing, that adds up to a significant contribution," he said.
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