INTRODUCTION
Tourism comprises the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited.
The term 'tourism' in the international standards is not restricted to leisure activity. It also includes short-term (less than one year) travel for business or other reasons such as education, provided the destination is outside the person's usual environment. Travel is a broader concept which includes commuting to a place of work, travel for business or leisure and migration.
This chapter outlines the value of tourism production, tourism consumption, international trade in tourism, and tourism employment. International visitor arrivals and Australian resident departures are covered, along with a range of data on visitor travel and tourist accommodation in Australia.
In 2007-08 the tourism industry share of Australia's gross domestic product was 4%.
The tourism industry employed 497,800 people in 2007-08.
In 2007-08, international visitors consumed over $23 billion (b) worth of goods and services produced by the Australian economy.
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