April 2022 proved to be a record month for Aussie tourism with domestic overnight spend reaching a record $10.1 billion for the month.
The monthly spend surpassed April 2019 figures by $2.4 billion and is the highest spend recorded since Tourism Research Australia (TRA) began reporting monthly figures in January 2019.
“The April figures are welcome news for Australia’s hard working tourism operators,” said Minister for Trade and Tourism, Don Farrell.
“We know there are still challenges and much work ahead, yet we’re getting on with the job.
“As the fourth largest Australian export, a healthy tourism sector is vital to Australia’s economy. It’s crucial that we support its recovery.”
The latest figures show overnight trips rose 6% and nights away were up 5% compared to April 2021.
And while visitor numbers are slightly down on pre-pandemic numbers, the data show people are spending more with the national average spend per night up $63 to $253 and average spend per trip up $252 to $939.
Australia’s capital cities recorded 4 million overnight visitors and $4.1 billion in spend during the month of April, the highest numbers since the start of the pandemic.
It was the best monthly result for interstate travel since the beginning of the pandemic with overnight spend above pre-pandemic figures at $5.3 billion – up 32% or $1.3 billion on April 2019 and 2021 – but the number of trips were down 5% on April 2019 to 3.3 million.