October 30, 2009Australia’s aviation sector is slowly turning the corner, while the strong exchange rate continues to prove difficult for domestic tourism businesses to compete.
The latest International Airline Activity data from the Bureau of Infrastructure Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) shows passengers carried in the month of August grew by 3.7 percent to 2 million.
According to the
Tourism and Transport Forum, this is clearly the strongest monthly performance of the year once seasonal effects are taken into account.
Considering there were no international passenger movements in or out of Australian airports for the period January to July, the August increase is a welcome return to growth.
Overseas Arrivals and Departures figures for August showed Australian departures rose by 8.5 percent while international visitors fell 0.3 percent.
However, TTF Executive Director Brett Gale cautions this growth is being driven by Australians holidaying overseas.
“While there is good news in these numbers for airports and airlines the local tourism industry is not yet reaping the rewards,” Gale says.
“It’s also important to remember that a key trigger for this growth has been the availability of cheap airfares – which Australians have been taking advantage of but which can’t last,” he says.
According to Gale, the relatively strong Australian economy and a strong exchange rate are providing an advantage for overseas travel but making it difficult for domestic tourism businesses to compete.
Data released this week shows the cost of an overseas holiday has declined by 5.1 percent compared to 12 months ago.
“The tourism sector has endured a triple whammy in 2009 of the GFC, swine flu and now a rising dollar,” Gale explains.
“In light of this, TTF is urging the Federal government to at least maintain funding for Tourism Australia in the next budget, as well as allocating additional funding for the National Long-Term Tourism Strategy,” he says.