Fed: Hard year ahead for Australian tourism: report

AAP General News (Australia)
12-30-2008
Fed: Hard year ahead for Australian tourism: report

SYDNEY, Dec 30 AAP - Australia's tourism industry is headed for a tough year on the
back of the global financial crisis with a drop in the number of foreign visitors expected,
a new report shows.

According to the Tourism Australia report, to be released on Tuesday, the value of
inbound tourism is expected to drop by four per cent, or $500 million, to $24 billion.

The number of visitors is forecast to fall from 5.56 million to 5.33 million with next
year shaping as the industry's worst since 1989, The Australian newspaper reports.

The organisation's Tourism Forecasting Committee chairman Bernard Salt said less Australians
were also travelling overseas.

"There is no doubt that tourism operators who are heavily reliant on international
tourism are in for a tough time in 2009," he said.

AAP kd/goc/jj

KEYWORD: TOURISM

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