5249.0 - Australian National Accounts: Tourism Satellite Account, 2001-02  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 05/06/2003   
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MEDIA RELEASE

June 5, 2003
Embargoed: 11:30 AM (AEST)
58/2003

Tourism contributes less to Australia's GDP: ABS

Australia's Tourism industry contributed $31.8 billion to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2001-02, a fall of $53 million on the previous year, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

In 2001-02, the Tourism industry’s share of total GDP decreased to 4.5%, compared with 4.8% in 2000-01. Conversely, GDP for the whole domestic economy grew by 6.5% during the same period.

Domestic visitors generated more than three-quarters (75.5%) of the Tourism industry's contribution to GDP in 2001-02, while the balance (24.5%) was generated by international visitors.

In 2001-02, domestic and overseas visitors consumed $70.8 billion worth of goods and services, a decline of less than one percent on the previous year.

The Tourism industry contributed $26.5 billion to industry gross value added in 2001-02. While the whole economy’s gross value added increased by 6.5%, tourism gross value added only increased by 0.6% during 2001-02. (Note: Industry gross value added measures the value of production exclusive of product taxes such as the GST).

The Tourism industry also contributed 11.2% to total exports of goods and services in 2001-02. This represented a decline following previous strong growth between 1997-98 and 2000-01.

After peaking in 1999-2000, domestic visitor numbers experienced a second year of decline, falling by 4% in 2001-02. Short-term international visitor arrivals also fell by 5%, after reaching a high of more than 5 million in 2000-01.

549,000 people were employed in the Tourism industry in 2001-02. This represented 5.9% of total employment, a decrease from 6.0% in 1997-98.

Further information is in National Accounts: Australian Tourism Satellite Account 2001-02 (cat. no. 5249.0).