International research
Explore the latest survey results and market profiles
On this page
- International visitation data
- International tourism summaries
The Tourism, Events and Visitor Economy's (TEVE) international research data includes:
- the latest International Visitors Survey results for Victoria by campaign region and by country of origin, including visitors, nights and expenditure
- future visitation forecasts
- international tourism summaries providing the latest tourism data by market including information on visitor numbers, nights and expenditure, purpose of visit, trends, growth and market share, regional dispersal and places visited, repeat visitation and aviation share data.
International visitation
International Visitor Survey results, year ending March 2019 key findings:
Figure 1: Key international visitor highlights for Victoria
Figure 2: International overnight visitation summary results
For the year ending March 2019, key points include:
- International expenditure in Victoria continued to break records to reach $8.5 billion in the year ending March 2019, with solid growth of 7.6 per cent. Victoria exceeded the national growth rate for spend (+5.8 per cent) and key competitor New South Wales (+7.1 per cent), although was marginally behind Queensland (+8.6 per cent).
- Victoria experienced year-on-year growth in international visitors to reach 3.1 million (+5.0 per cent), above the national average growth rate (+2.7 per cent) and key competitors New South Wales (+0.3 per cent) and Queensland (-0.3 per cent).
- Melbourne experienced solid growth in international spend (+7.9 per cent), outperforming the national capital cities average (+6.1 per cent) and marginally ahead of Sydney (+7.7 per cent), although behind strong a double-digit performance from Brisbane (+15.0 per cent).
- International spend in regional Victoria increased by 3.5 per cent to $582 million, just below the national regional average growth rate (+4.4 per cent). International overnight visitors to regional Victoria increased at a double-digit pace of 12.0 per cent year-on-year to reach 588,200, well above the national regional growth rate (+3.3 per cent). Growth in regional visitors was driven by both Eastern (+14.6 per cent) and Western markets (+11.9 per cent).
- Double-digit increases in spend were recorded from Asian markets such as Taiwan (+36.4 per cent) and India (+19.0 per cent). Strong growth in spend was noted from the USA (+14.3 per cent), supported by recent aviation capacity increases to the US late year (i.e. new MEL- SF services). Other markets to grow solidly were China (+9.6 per cent), Indonesia (+8.9 per cent) and Malaysia (+5.7 per cent). Spend from Japan declined after a recent period of strong growth (-11.9 per cent), with declines also noted for New Zealand (-7.9 per cent), Hong Kong (-4.4 per cent) and the United Kingdom (-2.4 per cent). Notably, New Zealand dropped its ranking as Victoria's fourth most valuable market to fifth position, with the United Kingdom taking its place.
Note: The International Visitor Survey (IVS) for the year ending December 2018 release included data revisions back to 2005. Please do not use/compare previously published data prior to the year ending December 2018 data release.
Next release: September 2019 (TBC)
Visit the Tourism Research Australia website;
How many international travellers visit Victoria, where do they come from and how much do they spend?
- International Visitor Survey infographic year ending March 2019 (PDF 288.95 KB)
- International visitation and expenditure year ending March 2019 (XLSX 746.64 KB)
How many international travellers will visit Victoria in the future?
Want to know more about our international markets?
Tourism Australia produces a range of information on international visitation research and market intelligence including market segmentation studies, visitor profiles and aviation information.
Other international research
- The research report on Chinese Free and Independent Travellers – their potential for Regional Australia was released in March 2019 and can be found on the Tourism Research Australia website.
The report focusses on the Chinese free and independent travellers (FIT) market who are more likely to stay longer and disperse beyond Australia’s major gateway cities, compared with their non-FIT or group tour counterparts. The research assesses the barriers which inhibit greater regional dispersal and identifies areas for possible action and considers the issue of regional dispersal from both supply and demand sides.
- Research on International Education within the Visitor Economy was released in October 2018.
The research includes a profile of international education visitors, top spending origin markets, travel to Melbourne and regional Victoria, activities undertaken and forecast figures.
- Research on Chinese visitors to Victoria was released in October 2018.
The research includes a profile of Chinese visitors, travel to regional Victoria, activities undertaken and forecast figures, as well as insights on Chinese-born residents living and studying in Victoria.
- Research on Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) in Victoria, focusing on the Chinese and Indian markets, was released on 29 June 2017 and can be found on the Tourism Research Australia website.
The research explores the motivations, behaviours and influences of these visitors and their hosts. Insights and opportunities are included in the executive summary and infographics with a comprehensive report available upon request.
International tourism summaries
Updated bi-annually, Victoria's Top 10 International Markets year ending December 2018 Factsheet (PDF 691.06 KB) provides a snapshot of Victoria’s top international source markets in terms of visitors, nights and expenditure, along with growth and splits for Melbourne and Regional Victoria.
The below documents, updated annually, provide a summary of the latest tourism data for visitors from different international markets to Victoria.
Information includes:
- visitor numbers
- nights and expenditure
- trends, growth and market share
- purpose of visit
- regional dispersal and places visited
- repeat visitation
- related aviation shares.
State Government of Victoria
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Page updated: 17 Jun 2019