Australia’s visitor economy in 2024, Tourism Research
Australia, June 2025
Annual benchmark report: Trends and characteristics of Australia’s travel and tourism sector
Foreword
This annual snapshot from Tourism Research Australia (TRA) gathers a range of metrics and case studies to tell the story of the Australian tourism sector in 2024. This report details the opportunities and challenges for the visitor economy as travel trends evolve and provides a thorough assessment of industry progress.
In 2024, Australians continued to prioritise travel and demand for domestic trips remained high, particularly short trips close to home. However, overall growth was muted and travellers adjusted spending patterns in light of household financial pressures. On the international side, there was continued growth in arrivals from many source markets, with key markets in our region standing out. However, the total number of short-term visitor arrivals remained lower than the previous peak, which remains a key challenge for some parts of the visitor economy.
Importantly, the visitor economy expanded and adapted to service tourism demand in Australia in 2024, however, some supply constraints were still noticeable. The high level of government and private investment taking place in the sector will give confidence for future growth.
Actions under the THRIVE 2030 national strategy for the visitor economy assisted the sector to rebalance and have helped to establish a sustainable growth path for the visitor economy. It is exciting to see how the tourism sector continues to progress and evolve, while offering exceptional travel opportunities for all Australian and international travellers.
Grant Ferres
Head of Tourism Research Australia
