Tourism Investment Monitor shows investment pipeline had a value of $56.1 billion in 2022/23

Rising confidence in the visitor economy has been confirmed with new data from Tourism Research Australia (TRA) showing the pipeline of investment in tourism sector totalled $56.1 billion in 2022/23.

Austrade's TRA annual Tourism Investment Monitor shows investment in 307 projects (up 63 projects from 244 projects in 2021/22) with a value of $56.1 billion (up $11.8 billion up $11.8 billion from 2021/22).

The report's summary advised "with Australia having moved beyond the constraints imposed by COVID-19 and with tourism’s recovery well underway, there is renewed optimism for the future of the visitor economy. The domestic visitor economy is performing well despite cost-of-living pressures. Domestic visitor spend comfortably exceeded pre-pandemic levels in 2022/23, while for the year-to-date October 2023, international visitor arrivals are at 75% of their pre-pandemic level.

“Optimism is, however, counterbalanced by challenging global and domestic economic conditions, including higher interest rates, as well as conflicts that can disrupt travel and affect confidence.

“The most significant growth in the investment pipeline was in the arts, recreation and business services sector.

“Investment in this sector rose by $9 billion, or 56%, in 2022/23 to $25.1 billion through 51 additional projects. Many were new projects to the pipeline identified by reviewing Australian Government and State Government budget papers, an additional data source used for the first time.

The investment pipeline grew in all states and territories.

“With planning for the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics gaining momentum, Queensland led the way by accounting for 42% or $4.9 billion of the total increase in the investment pipeline in 2022/23.”

Among the states, Western Australia had the lowest level of investment in new tourism accommodation and new attractions of any State in 2022/23.”

The Tourism Investment Monitor details investment in three key tourism segments:

Aviation: 19 projects valued at $18.8 billion
Arts, recreation, and business services: 129 projects valued at $25.1 billion
Accommodation: 159 projects valued at $12.2 billion. These projects have the potential to contribute 24,300 rooms to the national accommodation supply.

The report also groups investments by project phase. In 2022/23, there were:

40 projects valued at $13.0 billion in the proposed phase
154 projects valued at $23.3 billion in the planning phase
113 projects valued at $19.8 billion in the under-construction phase.

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Image: Concept for the Cedar Mill Group's under construction entertainment venue at Lake Macquarie in NSW.