REGIONAL REPORT
AUSTRALIA :
INTERNATIONAL
TOURISM drives hot pipeline
LEADING THE WAY , CHINESE DEVELOPERS
BITE INTO LUXURY AND
LIKE WHAT THEY TASTE .
By CHLOE RILEY , ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Record numbers of international tourists funneled into Australia this year , with Asian visitors at the head of the pack .
Chinese , Korean and Japanese tourists alone were worth a combined A $ 12.3 billion ( US $ 9 billion ) to Australia ’ s economy , out of the A $ 38.8 billion ( US $ 30 billion ) tourism dollars funneled into the country in 2016 , according to Tourism Research Australia . In December , all six Chinese airlines operating direct routes between Australia and mainland China pledged to expand direct flights between the two countries .
Not surprisingly , the tourism-related investment pipeline reflects that , standing at A $ 29 billion ( US $ 22 billion ), up from A $ 17 billion ( US $ 13 billion ) three years ago , with two-thirds of the investment in accommodation , according to Deloitte Tourism and Hotel Market Outlook .
Further reflecting the growth is performance data , with room rates expected to grow at an average of 2.5 % for the next three years to A $ 170 ( US $ 131 ) per night , chasing the 10-year historical average growth rate of 2.6 %, while RevPAR is expected to grow by 3.1 % to a national
26 hotelsmag . com May 2017