According to figures released today by the Ministry of Tourism, Australia was the star performer, with spending by visiting Aussies increasing by 11.6% to $1.8b.
"At a time when our important long-haul markets were heavily affected by the recession, it was very pleasing to see our largest market perform so well. Australia, as our nearest and largest market, really bucked the trend in a tough year that saw international arrivals down globally at -4.2%," said the ministry's general manager Ray Salter.
Spending by long-haul markets was down. Britain, dropped 11% to $812m, the US dipped 3.2% to $597m, Japan shrank 9.6% to $379m, and South Korea slipped 3.3% to $193m.
Germany's spend rose 22.5% to $293m for the year. Spend by Chinese visitors was up by 27% to $337m due to an increase in the number longer staying visitors.
"The level of spending for 2009 was an excellent result considering the raft of challenges faced during the year, from the global financial crisis through to the influenza pandemic mid-year," Mr Salter said.
The tourism industry had adapted to the conditions and done a great job in keeping tourism activity and spending at such high levels, he said.
The Ministry is revisiting its forecasts over the next month to incorporate current global conditions. All the signs were pointing to continued overall improvement in conditions for the tourism industry, Mr Salter said.
