Data from Tourism Research Australia highlights the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sector. The figures show that the tourism industry lost $101.7 billion between March 2020 and the end of June 2021. The industry’s revenue from international travellers fell by 94% over the period, while spending on overnight trips by domestic travellers fell by 36%.
However, regional Australia has enjoyed a surge in spending by domestic tourists, with a 15% ($1.5 billion) increase in the June 2021 quarter:
Since the start of the pandemic, domestic tourism in Australia has recorded significant losses. Recovery through the second half of 2020 and into 2021 has been slow and impacted by recurring border closures and changing restrictions due to COVID-19. The second half of 2021 will provide a further setback to tourism’s recovery with results expected to deteriorate due to outbreaks causing border closures and longterm lockdowns in New South Wales (NSW), Victoria (VIC) and the ACT.
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