Fed: Tourism industry to celebrate almost 4.5 million arrivals

AAP General News (Australia)
02-16-2000
Fed: Tourism industry to celebrate almost 4.5 million arrivals

CANBERRA, Feb 16 AAP - A late summer surge pushed the number of holidaymakers travelling
to Australia to almost 4.5 million last year.

Preliminary figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed 4,453,200
people travelled down-under during 1999, a seven per cent lift on the year before.

The figure was boosted by a surge of 454,500 during December, in original unaltered
terms, the ABS said.

Japan and New Zealand remained Australia's top two markets for short-term arrivals,
each accounting for 16 per cent of travellers last year.

They were followed by Britain (12 per cent), the United States (9 per cent) and Singapore
(6 per cent).

The strong overall figures, however, hid continued problems in the lucrative but economically
troubled Japanese market, which slid six per cent compared to 1998, from 751,100 to 705,900
in 1999.

That fall was offset by lifts from New Zealand (up 3 per cent from 1998), the UK (up
13 per cent), the US (up 11 per cent) and Germany (up 14 per cent).

In seasonally adjusted terms, preliminary arrival for the months of December fell by
more than 30,000 to 357,000.

AAP rft/mfh/arb g

KEYWORD: ARRIVALS

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