AUSTRALIA’S tourism industry now accounts for one in every eight businesses operating in the country, Austrade reports.
The latest Tourism Research Australia Tourism Businesses in Australia report found the number of tourism businesses operating in Australia grew by 4.6% in the 12 months to Jun 2018 – up 11.7% compared with the year to Jun 2013.
The report showed significant growth in the travel agency/tour operator category, with more than 7,370 businesses in this sector in Jun 2018, up significantly on Jun 2013 (5,055).
The growth in the sector has been largely fuelled by a large increase in the number of small businesses employing five or fewer people, while the number of business employing more than 200 fell by three in the five years to Jun 2018.
“An increase in this industry is most likely due to the sustained and significant growth in inbound and outbound travel,” the report said.
“This particular sector has a more direct association with tourism than most other tourism-related industries.
“Therefore, its performance most closely reflects the growth in the industry over the past decade.”
Across the industry small businesses accounted for 95% of enterprises, however, larger businesses accounted for 71% of turnover and 62% of the workforce.
While most other sectors within the travel industry reported growth, the number of accommodation operators has declined in recent years, despite an increase in tourism activity.
“This industry has seen a reduction in business counts over the last five years, likely due to the less-regulated sharing economy,” the report said.
“With platforms such as Airbnb potentially affecting the viability of traditional accommodation businesses, it is possible that the sharing economy is responsible, in some part, for the decrease in business counts.”
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Source: traveldaily