Published: 4 October 2023
Victorian tourism is continuing its strong comeback with a new record in visitor spend of $36.1 billion, according to the latest data from Tourism Research Australia’s (TRA).
The latest results from TRA’s National and International Visitor Survey for the year ending June 2023 shows Victorian tourism spend continuing to break records. Tourism spend increased by $1.1 billion since March 2023 results, and the state brought in 90 million total visitors and 122.7 million total nights.
International arrivals have also continued to bounce back. Our international visitor market brought in $4.8 billion in spend over the 12-month period.
Victoria’s top spending international market was China at $920 million. These results were driven by the return of the education market which made up 87% of overall spend (January to June 2023).
India also continued to rebound with spend recovering above pre-pandemic levels at $566 million. Our neighbours across the ditch, New Zealand, were our largest visitor market to Victoria. New Zealand visitor spend was back to 91% of pre-COVID levels at $355 million.
All Victorian tourism regions had significantly higher total domestic visitor expenditure compared to the year ending June 2019. The Grampians was up 63%, Geelong and the Bellarine increasing by 62%, Phillip Island by 61% and High Country rising 59%.
At a national level, Victoria’s market share sits at 22.1% of all visitor spend in the state. Melbourne kept the country’s top spot for the interstate overnight leisure market with 3.6 million people staying 14.8 million nights and spending $5 billion.
Tourism in Victoria continues to reinforce the strength of its recovery and resilience of the industry. Growth is expected to increase as the recovery of international tourism accelerates and as supply-side issues are resolved.
Despite signs of weakness in other areas of the economy, strong demand to travel continues to drive the sector. The continued demand has insulated tourism from broader economic volatility for now.
To explore Victoria’s tourism research, visit our Research and insights hub.
