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Yesterday’s TRA International Visitor Survey for the Dec 2014 quarter saw a “first” for the Aussie tourism market. The UK market fell below 10% of total international visitors for the first time ever.
As the first chart shows, although total numbers are still well above lows seen in 2012, the percentage of the total has fallen to just 9.7% (see second chart); that had once been as high as 14.5% some 12 years ago. The chart also makes it very clear the impact that an Ashes Test has on the annual visitor numbers from the UK; imagine how many more would come if they actually won every now and again!
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June 26th, 2015 at 9:55 am
The UK proportion is likely to decline with increasing visits from Asia rather than nominal numbers. With cricket tours an interesting comparison there could be with India. Sydney Airport reported different summer seasonal traffic this year with the Ashes tour traffic being replaced by the World Cup in different timeslots, The last Lions rugby tour provided a noted boost from the UK. I can’t though resist comment again on the exchange rate. I recall a cricket tour where England’s barmy army solaced themselves while being hammered to nil on the field with a chant on the Sydney Hill: “we got three aussie dollars to the pound, we got three aussie dollars ….”
June 26th, 2015 at 10:25 am
Thanks for the comment Mark. You’re clearly quite right about the impact that a growing number of Asian visitors will have (and has already had) on the percentage share claimed from the UK market. Nevertheless the decline has been substantial and almost certainly due in part to the strength of the A$ (as you suggest). It will be interesting to see if this decline is reversed (or at least stabilised) as the effects of the somewhat weaker A$ start to impact on travel intentions going forward; so far there doesn’t appear any such effect.