Tourism Australia has released the full details of its new 10-year Tourism 2035 strategy, setting a target to lift international leisure and business events expenditure from $33 billion in 2025 to between $61 billion and $69 billion by 2035.
The strategy builds on the high-level direction presented at Destination Australia in Melbourne/Narrm earlier this year and sets out how the national tourism body plans to generate demand, convert interest into bookings and support sustainable growth across the visitor economy.
Its central vision is for Australia to become “the first destination every traveller dreams of, and the one they ultimately choose”.
High-yield travellers at centre of growth plan
Tourism Australia will focus its investment on high-yielding travellers across leisure, luxury, working holiday and business events segments.
The strategy defines high-yielding travellers as visitors who contribute disproportionately through longer stays, wider regional dispersal or higher daily spending. Luxury travellers, for example, are identified as spending more than $1,200 per person a day, while working holiday makers stay for an average of 161 days and often travel beyond major gateways.
Business events will remain another priority, with international delegates spending an average of 56 per cent more per night than leisure visitors in 2025.
Tourism Australia managing director Robin Mack said the strategy was designed to translate destination demand into sustainable growth for the industry.
“Our vision is simple: to be the first destination every traveller dreams of, and the one they ultimately choose,” Mack said.
“Our goal for that growth is to reach visitor expenditure of between $61 billion and $69 billion by 2035, from $33 billion in 2025.”
The plan divides the coming decade into three growth horizons, targeting expenditure of at least $41 billion by 2028, $49 billion by 2031 and $61 billion by 2035. The upper growth scenario would lift those figures to $43 billion, $53 billion and $69 billion respectively.
Sixteen markets to drive inbound demand
Tourism Australia will concentrate activity across 16 international source markets, which collectively account for around 80 per cent of inbound expenditure.
China and Hong Kong, the United States, South Korea, Japan and India have been classified as “grow” markets and will receive full-funnel marketing investment based on their potential to deliver additional visitation and spending.
The United Kingdom and Germany will be treated as “protect” markets because their visitors tend to stay longer, spend strongly and disperse widely, despite the challenge of distance and travel cost.
Singapore, New Zealand, Canada, France, Italy, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam will sit in an “activate” category focused on partnerships, distribution and earned channels.
The strategy identifies China as the most significant individual growth market, with visitor spending projected to reach $8 billion by 2035. Spending from the United States is targeted to approach $6 billion, supported by what Tourism Australia describes as the largest pool of high-yielding travellers among its priority markets.
Aviation growth critical to meeting targets
Aviation capacity is identified as one of the biggest factors determining whether the industry can achieve the strategy’s spending goals.
Tourism Australia estimates Australia will require another 1.5 million inbound seats by 2028, rising to 2.8 million by 2031 and 4.4 million by 2035 to reach the lower growth target.
Around 3.6 million of those additional seats will need to come from the 16 core markets.
The strategy acknowledges that demand generation alone will not be enough, with future growth also dependent on competitive airfares, favourable economic conditions and limited geopolitical disruption.
It also identifies 10 forces likely to shape the industry, including rising competition for high-value travellers, continued Asian market growth, artificial intelligence, changing booking behaviour, climate volatility, demand for nature-based experiences and increasing interest in travel that delivers positive environmental or social outcomes.
Major events and artificial intelligence shape priorities
Tourism Australia has established four strategic priorities for the decade: marketing to both people and machines, showcasing the breadth of Australian experiences, capitalising on major events and defining a stronger national luxury position.
The focus on machines reflects the growing influence of algorithms, digital platforms and artificial intelligence on travel discovery and decision-making. Tourism Australia plans to ensure destination content is structured so these systems can recognise and recommend Australian experiences.
Major events will also play an important role, with the “Green and Gold decade” culminating in the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games expected to provide a major platform for promoting Australia as more than an events host.
First Nations culture will remain central to the destination story, with the strategy committing to support Indigenous-led experiences, employment and regional development. Tourism Australia’s Discover Aboriginal Experiences portfolio currently includes 53 operators offering more than 200 experiences.
Tourism Australia says it will continue consulting with industry throughout each growth horizon, allowing the strategy to be adjusted as aviation, technology, consumer behaviour and global conditions evolve.
