Tourism Ministers met in Adelaide on 21 March 2025 to discuss their collective and continued efforts to supporting Australia's travel and tourism industry.
Chaired by Minister for Trade and Tourism, Senator the Hon Don Farrell, the Minister was joined by Chief Minister Andrew Barr MLA of the Australian Capital Territory, the Hon Jeremy Rockliff MP, Premier of Tasmania, the Hon Zoe Bettison MP from South Australia, the Hon Andrew Powell MP from Queensland and Steve Dimopoulos from Victoria. Ms Karen Jones, A/g Chief Executive Officer, Destination NSW attended on behalf of the Hon Stephen Kamper MP; Ms Suzana Bishop, Chief Executive Officer, Northern Territory Department of Tourism and Hospitality attended on behalf of the Hon Marie-Clare Boothby; and Ms Anneke Brown, Managing Director, Tourism Western Australia attended on behalf of the Hon Reece Whitby MLA.
Tourism Ministers noted the impact of recent natural disasters across Australia on communities and businesses, including tourism businesses. Ministers acknowledged the work of the Commonwealth, State, Territory and local Governments to support these regions to recover, and the importance, when regions are ready, of attracting visitors back.
Tourism Ministers noted the progress update for the THRIVE 2030, Australia's national strategy for the long-term sustainable growth of the visitor economy, and welcomed the achievements of governments and industry, as highlighted in the THRIVE 2030 Recovery Phase final report, which was released at the meeting. Ministers acknowledged that State and Territories had collaborated with the Commonwealth to deliver:
- the National Sustainability Framework and Toolkit to help tourism businesses become more sustainable;
- the WELCOME Framework to provide practical advice to make tourism businesses more accessible and inclusive;
- the Longitudinal Indicators for the Visitor Economy (LIVE) Framework, to better measure the visitor economy across economic, social, environmental and institutional dimensions; and
- the Choose Tourism workforce program.
Tourism Ministers welcomed the establishment of the First Nations Visitor Economy Partnership, which met for the first time on 18 March, to support greater First Nations participation and economic opportunities in the visitor economy. Ministers were pleased that a record 3 million trips had included a First Nations experience in 2023-24.
Ministers noted an update on Australia's tourism industry from Austrade CEO, Dr Paul Grimes, including Tourism Research Australia's work to modernise its data collection. Ministers discussed performance and current conditions in domestic and international tourism and noted that:
- Data from Austrade's Tourism Research Australia shows that over the 12 months to September 2024, visitor expenditure (from tourism and international education) reached $211 billion, including $80 billion in regional Australia, exceeding the THRIVE 2030 visitor spend target for 2024 of $166 billion, including $70 billion in regional expenditure.
- International visitor numbers continued to recover towards pre-COVID levels, with 8.3 million short term visitors arriving in Australia in 2024, up 15% on 2023 numbers. Australia's top 5 international markets in 2024 were: New Zealand, China, the United States, the United Kingdom and India.
- Domestic visitor overnight spend was $110.3 billion in 12 months to September 2024, which was slightly up on year before.
- The investment pipeline for tourism was strong, with 346 projects, worth $64 billion, underway in 2023-24.
Ministers welcomed a presentation from Tourism Australia on its efforts to drive international demand for Australian holidays and business events, with an emphasis on coordinated marketing efforts with the States and Territories tourism promotion agencies.
Ministers welcomed recent developments in Australia's aviation industry, including the announcement of the Australian Government's support for Regional Express (Rex) Airlines, noting aviation is a critical enabler of tourism in Australia. Ministers acknowledged ongoing challenges with insurance affordability.
Ministers agreed to continue collaborating to address these shared challenges, and maximise opportunities for Australia's visitor economy.
